Denver is on Track to Spend $3 Million Supporting Migrants this Year

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock talking about the migrant crisisPhoto byTwitter and YouTube

On Thursday, December 29, Denver welcome migrants as they arrived on a bus from Texas. According to the city, 130 migrants arrived for a total of 2,761 migrants the city has provided support.

Currently, the city has 700 migrants in the city emergency shelter and 654 in partner emergency shelters. The city is not providing the name and location of the shelters.

Additionally, the city is establishing a temporary overflow shelter at the Denver Coliseum for migrants for overnight stays.

Most of the migrants have arrived from El Paso Texas which is experiencing its own issues supporting migrants who cross the Texas-Mexican border. Texas Governor Greg Abbott provided support from the Texas National Guard.

But all of the support Denver has provided has not been free of course.

The city expects to spend $3 million this year.

Denver already declared a State of Emergency this month.

The city has not received federal support as yet but the state has provided some funds. According to the Denver Joint Information Center representative, Mikayla Ortega, Colorado has provided $1.5 million in assistance and $2.5 million is available from the American Rescue Plan (ARPA).

ARPA provided emergency assistance, loans, and grants from the federal government.

Mikayla Ortega said:

“This has been extremely taxing on city resources. We are not a border community. We don't have federal resources like border communities do. So, the help that we can provide in Denver is very limited. And we're at the point where we're not able to sustain much longer. We're at our breaking point.”

Mayor Michael Hancock has reached out to other cities for support but no organization has responded.

As the city is stretched to provide support for the migrants, they are requesting support from local organizations and non-profits. Contact can be provided by email to donations@denvergov.org.

Do you think Denver will be able to handle the migrant crisis it's facing?