Asylum seekers complain six months of free rent and food is not enough despite city budget cuts to accommodate for migrant crisis
Asylum seekers have complained six months of free rent and food is not enough, calling it “insufficient” and “offensive”.
The comments come as Denver’s Mayor cuts the city’s emergency budget to accommodate the surge in migrants entering the area.
The sanctuary city is struggling to stretch its resources to support the growing number of migrants making their way to Denver.
More than 40,000 migrants have entered Denver since December 2022, meaning the Mile High City has taken in more asylum seekers per capita than any over US metropolis.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnson last week announced his city’s migrant programme would provide “a long-term, sustainable response” to address the migrant “crisis” locally.
It provides six months of free housing, food assistance, workforce training.
Johnson’s decision resulted in Denver Police Department’s budget facing a $8.4million slash.
The city’s fire department will also face a fairly substantial cut.
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HAND spokesperson V Reeves complained about the situation facing migrants.
He told local ABC affiliate KMGH-TV: “Every new migrant that comes is going to be left to fend for themselves after 24 to 72 hours.”
Reeves argued the programme is “a slap in the face and an offensive period of time”.
He labelled the scheme as “insufficient”, adding: “The mayor doesn’t represent us … He needs to listen to us and work with us to a better solution.”
Denver has supported more than 38,000 migrants from the southern border.
The total cost for accommodating the migrant surge stood at $58 million as of March 2024.
Texas has transported thousands of migrants to sanctuary cities like Denver, to showcase the problems that border states face when migrants flood their cities.
Locals have complained about the impact of the migrant crisis on healthcare, with 8,000 illegal immigrants recording about 20,000 visits to Denver Health last year.