Colorado Dreamer embarks on bike ride to support Dream Act

FRISCO – Javier Pineda, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient, Mountain Dreamers board member, and proud Coloradan, is planning an American Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 6) awareness bike ride from Copper Mountain to Aspen Saturday to Sunday, July 20-21, passing through Vail.

This journey will take Javier through several Colorado mountain communities, all of which rely on an immigrant workforce. He will bike on frontage roads and scenic rec-paths along I-70 to Glenwood Springs, then bike east on CO-82 until he reaches Aspen.

Following passage of the American Dream and Promise Act in the House of Representatives, his decision to embark on this journey of more than 120 miles over several mountain passes is symbolic of how he and 17,000 other Colorado Dreamers have overcome many challenges on their path to contributing to our communities, and the need for the Senate to follow the House of Representatives’ lead by passing permanent Dreamer protections. 

The American Dream and Promise Act would protect more than 2.5 million Dreamers and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders from deportation and provide a much-needed pathway to citizenship for those eligible for each program.

Javier hopes this bike ride will raise awareness and inspire Coloradans, residents of mountain communities, and Americans across the country to call on their member of Congress to urge for permanent protections for Dreamers and TPS holders in the Senate. 

“I have spent years skiing at Colorado resorts, biking and hiking on Colorado trails, and camping in beautiful Colorado forests,” said Javier Pineda. “I love this state and it is my home. I believe I, along with the other Dreamers in this country, deserve certainty and a pathway to permanent status. When the American Dream and Promise Act passed the House in June, it was a historic step towards a path to citizenship. I hope the Senate will pass similar protections.”

Javier has called Summit County home since he was very young. He grew up in Colorado, graduating from Summit High School as the Student Body President, and earning other honorable recognitions including Eagle Scout and the Summit Foundation Youth of the Year Philanthropy Award. Today, he works full time to provide for his family and hopes to earn a Bachelor’s in Sustainability Studies.

It was because of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that Javier, like many other Coloradans, was able to come out of the shadows and legally study, work, and fully contribute to his community without fear of deportation.

The program was terminated in 2017 and has been temporarily upheld through court injunctions, but remains at risk. In June, the House of Representatives passed the American Dream and Promise Act, putting pressure on the Senate to follow suit. 

At the end of June 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court made the decision to hear arguments on the termination of the DACA program on November 12, 2019, further growing the significant fear and uncertainty Dreamers across the country face.