Lauren Boebert Slams Denver Over 'Ridiculous' New Migrant Initiative

GOP Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado has railed against a new initiative that allows state residents to call a hotline to sign up to host a migrant family.

The nonprofit Hope Has No Borders has paired at least 500 migrants with host families in Colorado since late 2023, Denver TV station KDVR reported.

As of May 1, anyone who wants to sign up for the nonprofit's Home Host program can call Mile High United Way's help center by dialing 211 to sign up. The help center will then pass along the information to Hope Has No Borders to match hosts with migrant families.

But the conservative congresswoman called the initiative "the most asinine and ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"Denver has now opened a hotline for residents to call and offer up their own homes to illegals," Boebert wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "If you have extra space, you're encouraged to host a 'migrant' for some time."

She continued: "We need to close the damn border and have some semblance of a sovereign nation again. The entire world sees this stuff and thinks we're a joke of a nation...and we're really beginning to look like one!"

Newsweek has reached out by email to Mile High United Way for comment. Boebert's office was also contacted via email.

Erin Lennon, who first began hosting an immigrant family in her home last year, told Denver TV station KMGH that she felt compelled to help those who are new to her city.

"They're extremely hard workers. They want to succeed. They want to have a chance," Lennon said about the family of four who recently moved into her home after a two-month trip from Chile.

Hope Has No Borders' mission "is to provide humanitarian relief and community support to individuals as they transition from crisis to HOPE," a spokesperson for the nonprofit told Newsweek.

"HOPE's Host Home Program is one of a wide range of solutions needed to address socio-economic disparities. Our program is designed to include hosts with a willingness to open their homes to a broad range of people in need of transitional housing including veterans, those experiencing poverty, or those who have been displaced due to a natural disaster," the spokesperson said.

The program is run independently by Hope Has No Borders, the spokesperson added, and does not receive funding from Mile High United Way.

The Colorado initiative comes as immigration remains a central issue ahead of November's presidential election, with Republican lawmakers seeking to blame President Joe Biden for the surge in migrants coming across the southern border. Meanwhile, Denver and other U.S. cities have struggled to manage the rising number of migrants that have been transported from Texas and other states.

Denver says it has spent almost $70 million in services for more than 41,000 migrants who have arrived in the city since the end of 2022. In an update on Monday, the city said it "extends its gratitude to the nonprofits, volunteers and members of the community offering their support to guests through housing, food, legal assistance and more."

Last month, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston announced the creation of a program that would place 1,000 or so asylum seekers who were in the city's hotel shelter system in apartments for up to six months. His office said this was a "first step in providing a long-term and sustainable" response to the city's migrant crisis.

Those who arrive after April 10 will be provided short-term stay at a shelter and assistance with travel to other destinations, Johnston's office said.

Update 5/9/24, 4:15 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to add comment from a spokesperson for Hope Has No Borders.