Job Seekers in Aurora Face Challenges Amid Rising Migration.
East Colfax Avenue was once touted as the best place for job opportunities, according to Sofia Roca. However, the reality was stark. The area was rife with open drug use, sex work, and groups of migrant women vying for employment at local Mexican restaurants and bakeries.
For Roca, a 49-year-old immigrant from Colombia, East Colfax in Aurora, Colorado, seemed promising. The employers often spoke Spanish and might consider hiring someone like her, even without legal authorization to work. Each morning, she returned, despite the lack of success.
During one job search, a woman asked Roca if she knew how to cook Mexican food. Roca, whose accent revealed she was not Mexican, replied, “I can learn.” The response was clear: “We’re not hiring.”
As an unprecedented number of South Americans attempt to cross the U.S. southern border, many arrive in communities unprepared for their presence, and in some cases, facing hostility.
Women, primarily from Colombia and Venezuela, are fleeing starvation and violence, seeking better lives for their children and access to medical care. They represent part of the over 42,000 migrants who have arrived in the Denver area in the past two years. Many had no prior connections in Denver but chose it as the nearest city offering free bus rides from Texas, which aimed to relieve pressure on its own communities while making a political statement about immigration.
Sofia Roca, in a laundromat in Aurora, washed clothes on March 29, 2024. Many migrants, drawn to Aurora for its affordable rent and Spanish-speaking residents, found job hunting difficult, particularly for women who face unique challenges.
Last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that nearly 900,000 women and girls attempted to cross the southern border, marking a fivefold increase over the past decade. Like many of these women, Roca sought to support her children, particularly her adult daughter in Colombia who suffers from lupus and needs expensive medications.
After crossing the border, Roca informed U.S. agents she was seeking asylum. A shelter worker in El Paso informed her that Denver was providing free housing for migrants, and Texas would cover the cost of her transportation.
Roca arrived in November and spent two weeks in a shelter. However, when she began searching for work along East Colfax, she faced an unwelcoming atmosphere.
Unbeknownst to her, resentment toward new migrants had been growing within Aurora’s large Mexican community. Many residents have family members who are undocumented or have themselves lived in the U.S. without legal work authorization for years.
Resentment also brewed within Aurora’s local government. In February, city officials warned neighboring communities against housing migrants, vowing not to allocate city funds for their support. This summer, Aurora’s mayor echoed claims that a notorious Venezuelan gang had taken over a local apartment complex. Although police debunked this claim, former President Donald Trump referenced it during campaign rallies, prompting the mayor to retract his statements last month.
Roca did not intentionally decide to settle in Aurora; the lines between Denver and Aurora were unclear to her.
As her time at the shelter neared an end, Roca returned to East Colfax, the only option she felt she had.
One day, a man by his truck outside a thrift store offered to help her. He proposed she come to Kentucky with him and his family.
After spending more than a week with them in Kentucky, Roca learned the man’s wife was involved in sex work. There were few job opportunities in Kentucky, so she earned money through that means, all while her children played nearby.
Days later, a man pulled up in a pickup truck, expressing interest in Roca. He offered $1,000 for two nights with her. The wife explained that Roca would keep $600, while they would take $400.
In her first month in the U.S., Roca understood she would need to make sacrifices, but she refused to compromise her dignity by engaging in such activities.
“No,” she said firmly. “I’m not going anywhere with anyone.”
The man was sent away, but insults from the woman soon followed. “How are you going to earn money, girl? You can’t just live here for free.”
Back in Aurora, Roca found herself walking along East Colfax Avenue once more. Most days, men would solicit her for sex, flashing their fingers to indicate how much they would pay.
During her job search in March, Roca discovered what appeared to be an old motel. A man behind a plexiglass window encouraged her to check out the bar in the back.
At some local Mexican cantinas in Aurora and Denver, women known as “ficheras” sell beers to men at inflated prices and keep the profits. While this can be a quick way to earn money, it also poses risks of falling into sex trafficking.
“I don’t think I have to do that yet,” Roca said. “But this street — it only offers prostitution.”
After returning to Aurora, Roca realized her options for establishing legal residency or obtaining legal work were limited. She informed U.S. Border Patrol officials of her intention to plead for asylum at her deportation hearing, but she was skeptical about its success.
Through Facebook, Roca connected with a friend from Colombia living in the northeastern U.S. “She told me she can get me a job at a hotel, and I can stay with her,” Roca said.
Two days later, with about $80 in her pocket, Roca boarded a Greyhound bus funded by the city of Denver. (The Associated Press is withholding her new location for her safety, as Roca fears the Cuban couple might seek her out after her media interviews.)
Her friend fulfilled her promise, linking Roca to a job cleaning hotel rooms. In her new city, Roca felt a sense of relief as she moved about anonymously.
“It’s a huge difference from my life in Denver,” she said. “There’s less chaos, and no one has disrespected me.”
Though uncertain about how long she would stay, Roca made one thing clear: she would never return to Aurora, Colorado.
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