During Ukrainian Crisis, Colorado Continues History Of Providing Sanctuary For Refugees

DENVER (CBS4)- As the crisis in Ukraine continues, more discourse is coming out about how Ukrainian refugees are being treated versus refugees from other countries. And while many agree that what's happening in Ukraine is inhumane and unjust, it's left many people wondering why.

"You know in Europe we've seen politicians and journalists saying things that are borderline or outright racist… about Ukrainians compared to other refugees groups," said Alex Ogle, with the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition.

Recently, many reports have come out of Ukraine saying that Africans who are trying to flee the country are being hindered. On Thursday, the Biden administration offered thousands of Ukrainians living in the U.S. temporary protection from deportation due to the ongoing crisis. But Ogle told CBS4, getting TPS status is something many non-white refugees are still waiting for.

"Why did it take only a few days for Ukrainians to get this designation, when other groups have been fighting for it, such as Cameroon, for months and years even,?" he said.

But why is Ukraine's situation different?

"It has to do with an internal bias we have," Ogle said. "We tend to view the global south, countries where there are many brown and Black people, we tend to view them as different from ourselves, and we tend to view Europe as similar to ourselves."

The state of Colorado has always been a sanctuary for refugees. Most recently, Gov. Jared Polis' office told CBS4, the state has welcomed at least 2,000 Afghan evacuees since August. But Ogle said while our state does better than most, systems in place continue to discriminate towards certain types of refugees, one of those being the recent deportations of Haitian immigrants.

"We know that Black and brown immigrants, but especially Black immigrants are disproportionally targeted by police, they disproportionally targeted by ICE, disproportionally targeted by our government for deportation, and that we see in Colorado as well," said Ogle.

In 2016, former Gov. John Hickenlooper also welcomed several Syrian refugees to the state. In a statement, a spokesperson with Polis' office said "Gov. Polis has been focused on building a Colorado for all and this administration welcomes refugees fleeing violence and oppression no matter their race, gender or country of origin. Colorado welcomes refugees from all over the world, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burma, and most recently Afghanistan." The statement continued, "refugees, no matter their country of origin, contribute to our way of life and economy - for every federal dollar we invest in their well-being, the state sees $1.23 returned in state and local tax revenue."