Over the past two months, more than 5,100 migrants have arrived, forcing local officials to expend additional resources to provide for them, and oftentimes provide transportation to their final destination. Of the $7,939,855 spent, $871,531 has been used to pay for Greyhound busses to send migrants to other cities, the Denver Post reported. Most of the migrants who have entered Denver do not plan to remain in the city for the long-term. According to the Post’s report, the largest number of bus tickets purchased by the city were to Chicago, followed by New York City. Overall, migrants elected to go to numerous cities across the country, including: Atlanta, Georgia; Miami and Orlando, Florida; Newark, New Jersey; Dallas, Texas; and Salt Lake City, Utah. “We continue to prioritize getting people to where they want as well as getting people access to services,” spokesperson Ryan Jeffers told the Post. Denver has been a “sanctuary city” for illegal immigration since 2017, when Mayor Michael Hancock signed an executive order resisting federal enforcement measures by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and establishing a legal defense fund to aid illegal aliens through Jan 20, 2021, the final day of former President Donald Trump’s first term as President. The order prohibited jail deputies from enforcing federal immigration laws, barred them from allowing ICE officers into secure areas of jails without a warrant, and prevented deputies from keeping written records about foreign nationals held in local jails. In December 2022, Hancock signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency for the city and county of Denver following a surge of migrants. “Let me be frank: This influx of migrants, the unanticipated nature of their arrival and our current space and staffing challenges have put an immense strain on city resourses to the level where they’re on the verge of reaching a breaking point at this time,” Hancock said. “What I don’t want to see is a local humanitarian crisis of unsheltered migrants on our hands because of a lack of resources.” As of the end of March 1, 2023, more than 1,200 migrants are being sheltered in city-run and nonprofit partner facilities.Since early December, the city of Denver has spent nearly $8 million on transportation, shelter and resources for thousands of illegal aliens that have flooded the area.
