Hickenlooper beat Gardner and is now representing Colorado in Washington, D.C, where he just voted in favor of an amendment to the fiscal year 2021 budget that blocks "illegal immigrants" from receiving COVID-related stimulus checks. Hickenlooper was one of only eight Democrats to vote in favor of the amendment, which passed by a vote of 58-42, since all Republican senators also voted in favor. The amendment is considered non-binding, because current legislation already prohibits undocumented immigrants without Social Security numbers from receiving the funds. But that hasn't prevented Colorado's immigrant advocates from expressing their displeasure with Hickenloopoer.
Flores-Muñoz had thrown his support to Hickenlooper during the election; he says he'd implored friends and family to vote for the former brewpub owner. As thanks for his support, he was part of Hickenlooper's virtual swearing-in ceremony to the U.S. Senate.
But now he feels betrayed.

Alejandro Flores-Muñoz was Denver's first official DACA recipient to get a business license from the city.
Courtesy of Stokes Poké
Flores-Muñoz does far more in Denver than serve poke; he's worked for nonprofit organizations, launched businesses (his latest is a ghost kitchen called Combi Taco), hosted online forums about entrepreneurship for undocumented immigrants, and written a book called No Papers No Fear: You Can Do Business Here. As a DACA dreamer who was brought to the U.S. from Mexico, he currently has no path to citizenship, but he lives and works here legally and pays taxes.
But many other immigrants in his position haven't been as fortunate. some, including Flores-Muñoz's own mom, have been able to work legally and pay taxes by setting up an Individual Taxpayer Identification number, even if they can't get a Social Security number. But these are the kind of people the amendment Hickenlooper voted for targets, says Flores-Muñoz: "These are people who pay income tax and sales tax."
Beyond penalizing immigrants who are trying to earn a living, the amendment is dangerous in its wording, he adds, because it uses the phrase "illegal immigrant."
As Flores-Muñoz points out: "This is playing into the rhetoric that has been used to attack us for so long. And not only do we pay taxes, but we can't get health care and other social services."
Flores-Muñoz says he has reached out to Hickenlooper's staff to see if he can have a meeting with the senator to ask why he sided with Republicans on the amendment, but he's not holding out hope that the meeting will happen.
"We're being undermined as a community with political power," he concludes. "I don't think this will be forgiven by me or my community. We won't be undermined again."