Photo Caption: Amanda Thorn, Colorado Immigrant Justice Fund Legal Operations Manager, Greg Moritmer, Colorado Immigrant Justice Fund Board Chair, Co-Founder, Cindy Goldman Impact100 Metro Denver VP Operations, Board Member and Accelerator Grant Co-Chair, Claudia Villa, Colorado Immigrant Justice Fund Board Member

Announcing The 2026-2028 Impact100 Metro Denver Accelerator Grant Award Recipient
$75,000 grant over 3 years

Colorado Immigrant Justice Fund

Colorado Immigrant Justice Fund (CIJF), founded in 2020, provides attorneys for immigrants in various legal hearings and proceedings. The organization was created by visiting volunteers who had identified a critical gap: most detained immigrants lack access to legal representation, placing them at significant risk of deportation to unsafe conditions.

In the United States, immigrants facing deportation are not guaranteed the right to legal counsel, leaving many to navigate a complex legal system on their own. As a result, only 3-5% of unrepresented immigrants succeed in their cases, while those with attorneys are up to 11 times more likely to prevail.

CIJF is uniquely positioned because it combines lived experience, legal expertise, and deep community trust. CIJF adapts quickly to shifts in immigration enforcement and legal strategy—rapidly scaling its attorney cohort and forming strategic partnerships to expand access to legal support. The organization has been successful in fundraising and in finding new ways to get detainees released such as filing group habeas petitions. This has resulted not only in successful releases but in significant reductions in cost per release.