Denver’s migrant crisis threatens to overwhelm its compassion
By Trevor Hughes, Lauren Villagran, USA TODAY, March, 2024
DENVER — No more flowers in the medians. Cuts to rec center hours and at the DMV. A hiring freeze in some city departments. After more than 40,000 migrants arrived Denver in less than a year, city officials are now struggling to help both the new arrivals and serve their taxpaying residents amidst skyrocketing rents and an ongoing housing shortage.
A self-described sanctuary city, Denver has found shelter for the migrants, helped their kids get into schools, provided emergency food assistance and taught them how to fill out paperwork.
It’s a vast, expensive effort in a city unaccustomed to managing such challenges.
And now cracks are beginning to show in the city’s generosity. Denver has already spent more than $60 million aiding the migrants, and officials are planning budget cuts to keep the aid flowing. A hastily built coalition of churches and nonprofits has stepped in to help, but several surrounding cities have refused to assist or accept migrants.
“We overextended a while ago,” said Ismael de Sousa, a longtime Denver bakery owner who grew up in Venezuela and has struggled with whether to open his own home to newcomers. “It’s tricky because you don’t know who you’re opening your door to for an indefinite amount of time.”
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Johnston has called for other mayors to help Denver by accepting migrants, but many have outright refused or just ignored his calls. Other cities have simply handed out bus tickets and sent migrants elsewhere.
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“It’s a vast, expensive effort in a city unaccustomed to managing such challenges”
Just another big democrat city ruled by some of the dumbest, most incompetent pricks in the country,
In Illinois Gov. Pritzker is proposing a $1.1 billion tax increase with $1 billion going towards illegal aliens (10% for the big guy). All borrowed money.
The state is awash in Marijuana, gambling and alcohol income, but they can’t balance the budget.