Denver to cut city budget to fund immigration aid

Jan. 2, 2024, at an encampment near Speer Boulevard and Zuni Street in Denver. (KDVR)

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver Mayor Mike Johnston tells FOX31 that the immigration crisis could cost the city $180 million this year, and that city departments have been given funding to cover the cost. He said he is calling for a reduction of up to 15%.

Johnston spoke in an exclusive interview with FOX31 about what this means for city services.

Just hours after Johnston broke the news to the City Council, he explained the details while FOX31 took a ride through downtown Denver on a tour of cleaned-up encampments.

“For those who aren’t familiar with budgets, $180 million is about 10 to 15 percent of the city’s budget,” Johnston said.

So where do these reductions come from?

“As a department head, my goal is always to find ways to cut back on things that don’t directly impact service. , we don’t want to take police officers off the streets, so we have to prioritize that,” Johnston said. “So what they’re going to do now is take a hard look at the budget and consider what options are there. And we’re going to go back and look at the budget and make sure that as much as we can directly impact the city. I’m going to think about what I can do without it.”

$180 million: This is more than the entire Parks and Recreation Department budget and more than the city’s entire housing and homelessness budget combined. And this news comes as the influx of immigrants increases.

As of Tuesday night, more than 4,800 immigrants were being temporarily held by the city. More than 37,000 people were transported to Denver last year, and the city has already paid $38 million to respond to the crisis.

Unless things change, the 2024 bill will be huge.

How will Denver deal with the influx of immigrants?

New York is seeking legal remedies, including going after the bus companies that bring migrants into the city. Is Denver pursuing something similar to the Texas governor who bused immigrants into the city?

“We are not going to take any legal action to prosecute them. We are just trying to figure out how to work together,” Johnston said. “You know, I reached out to the governor of Texas to tell him that we understand that we don’t think Texas can manage all of this influx on its own. We agree. Denver can’t handle everything on our own. Let’s work together on how to manage this system the same way we do for other asylum seekers. So what we’re looking at is: It’s not how you pick bigger battles, it’s how you solve problems.”

Another crisis: Cities can’t afford it. All rooms available to shelter immigrants within the city and county of Denver are currently full. There is no space for newly arrived immigrants and no staff or resources to support them if they come.

The mayor said that without support from neighboring cities, even deeper budget cuts may be necessary if the crisis worsens, but the crisis is not going away. Seven more migrant buses arrived in Denver over the weekend.

Future options include offering arriving migrants a ticket out of town and expecting them to have friends and family to stay with them during their stay.