In 1996, three major bills pass that lay the framework for the modern deportation spikes we see today. The Illegal Immigration Reform, Immigrant Responsibility Act, Anti-Terrorism Act and Effective Death Penalty Act increase the imprisonment of non-violent, non-criminal immigrants and allow for the deportation of immigrants with minor crimes. These laws made it significantly easier to deport people and more dificult for unauthorized immigrants to ‘get legal’, ultimately resulting in the deportation of 200,000. This same year, Chinook Fund begins funding two organizations; Rights for All People (now COPA) and Compañeros Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center. Twenty years later, these two organizations are still leading the fight for Immigrant rights across our state.

Grantee Changemakers: Rights for All People, Compañeros Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center