Democrat City Raises Red Flag on Surging Migrant Population: 'Out of Space'

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston is pulling the alarm on housing migrants, saying that shelters within city limits have run "out of space."

On Monday, the largest city in Colorado began a multi-week process of discharging what has been described as the largest per-capita surge of migrants into one area in the entire United States. More than 120 migrant families were affected at the beginning of the week, the first of some 800 families consisting of upwards of 3,000 individuals being forced to find new refuge. Denver has spent more than $42 million already in addressing the crisis.

After pausing migrant discharges due in November due to concerns about procedure in addition to weather, the city has initiated a process intended to curb what it has described as the fourth significant surge since late 2022. As of Monday, a dashboard documenting migrants within city limits showed that 38,386 migrants have been served by the city, including 3,782 currently in shelters.

"Our city workers have done heroic work helping newcomers land on their feet and start to build a life in Denver, but we are out of shelter space," Jordan Fuja, Johnston's press secretary, told Newsweek on Tuesday. "We are out of staff. And we are facing a budget deficit of up to $180 million to cover sheltering costs.

"If the federal government does not succeed in passing commonsense support for cities, it will mean significant budget cuts for cities like Denver and significantly scaling back sheltering services for migrants."

Johnston, a Democrat, recently traveled to Washington, D.C., and was joined by Colorado Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, both Democrats, in calling for more aid from the federal government to properly respond to the surge.

Laura Swartz, a spokesperson for the Denver Department of Finance, said recently that the city is drawing funds out of contingency reserves to help subsidize migrant-related costs. That funding would only likely cover costs until April, she added, which has led to other intergovernmental agencies identifying potential savings within their 2024 budgets.

The $180 million cited by the mayor's office equates to approximately 10 percent of the city's operating budget this year. Denver is expected to receive $14.1 million from federal government reimbursements.

"Denver is facing humanitarian and fiscal crises with the influx of arrivals to our city and limited resources," Fuja said. "This is why Mayor Johnston recently traveled to D.C. to call on Congress to take much needed action to support communities like ours that are receiving migrants, including expedited work authorization to ensure those who are admitted to the U.S. can support themselves, a coordinated entry plan, and increased funding for cities trying to manage this crisis."

Jon Ewing, a spokesperson with the Denver Department of Human Services, told ABC affiliate Denver 7 that accommodations are being made—including sending migrant families to local nonprofits or extending tickets for them to travel to other cities and states.

About 50 to 60 people are expected to be discharged daily for the next two months.

"We're doing everything possible," Ewing said, adding that camping out is not a viable solution. "We're working as hard as we can to make sure that people are getting into a better situation and not going back onto the streets."

Fuja said the city is currently operating seven migrant shelters for newcomers, partnering with the Archdiocese of Denver to provide bridge housing to families. It also now operates two congregate shelters for migrants formerly experiencing homelessness.

Denver Friends Church is one of the places where migrants have sought refuge.

Keith Reeser, senior pastor of the English-speaking church, told Newsweek on Tuesday that they currently serve 29 immigrants every evening in their emergency overnight cold shelter. Around 30-50 adults and 20-30 children are present during recently started Spanish-speaking services on Sundays.

"My opinion is that we are receiving too many migrants to serve or care for them in a humane and decent way," Reeser said. "They have far too little information when they get here, and our local tax-paying citizens are feeling unclear on how to be helpful to all of these newcomers.

"The wait time for working visas, green cards, and court dates is not just a few weeks, but often around 18 months to two years. That is just unbelievable. It creates a system of people feeling lost and clueless, and then many thousands of able-body, Spanish-speaking people are here, but they cannot work except for employers that are willing to pay them cash."

The cost of rent contributes to the struggle faced by these individuals, he said, adding that the church also offers migrants an evening meal, showers, clothes, toiletries, bed and bedding, and a to-go breakfast in the morning, which he said is possible due to local volunteers and benefactors who donate time, money and resources.

"Sometimes throughout the day, we do have to turn people away," Reeser said. "We typically have a full capacity sign outside the shelter these last ten days because we have now established a pre-registration system, and we do not have to offer it first come, first serve since we know who is coming.

"The reason for the low number of people is based on fire code, and also that we do not have sprinkler systems in place. We must provide 200 square feet per person and that means our max capacity stays the same. Even though we have a gymnasium, we cannot house more."

Denise Chang, executive director of the Colorado Hosting Asylum, told Newsweek that her network doesn't typically work with migrants who are forced to depart shelters.

"Our clients have generally been here a couple of months already, enough time to see an immigration lawyer and make some decisions about what they want to do as they move forward," Chang said.