OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
3:00 PM – Wednesday, September 20, 2023
The city of Denver has reached almost $25 million in costs in order to shelter immigrants as the number of illegal immigrants entering the United States continues to grow.
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This marks the latest financial hit that liberal cities are encountering as they deal with the immigrant crisis.
The ongoing immigrant issue has seen a number influx of immigrants at the border. Denver city officials declared in an email that the expenses for immigrant housing is approximately $24.8 million, which is $20 million more than what the city expected to spend within the last six months. Therefore, the spending is up to $1,000 per immigrant each week.
In August, it was reported by Axios that Denver had spent over $23 million regarding the immigrant crisis, and was experiencing an increase in the number of incoming immigrants. However, the city’s dilemma was said to be stable as leaders worked to establish a plan on how to efficiently provide services to immigrants.
Earlier this year, the city of Denver put specific limitations on immigrant shelters. This included a 30-day limit for how long immigrants can reside in a shelter, as well as restrictions on returns and any possible “illegal activity.”
The immigrant crisis has been a growing issue throughout the country, and Denver is among a number of liberal cities that have been hit by a large influx of immigrants. The most striking city dealing with the crisis has been New York City, and Mayor Eric Adams (D-N.Y.) has warned his city that the immigrant issue could cost up to $12 billion by 2025 without any federal action.
Therefore, Adams, the mayor of the self-described “sanctuary” city, has informed citizens that the immigrant influx could “destroy” the city.
Both Chicago and NYC are “sanctuary” cities, meaning that they limit or deny cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
“We are about to experience a financial… tsunami that I don’t think the city has ever experienced,” the NYC mayor explained. “Every service in this city is going to be impacted from child service to our seniors to housing. Everything will be impacted.”
Disappointed New Yorkers protested the city’s intake of immigrants and yelled “Close the border!” at members of Congress while they held a press conference. NYC has taken over 10,000 a month and received over 100,000 migrants within the past year.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas), has bussed immigrants to many cities including Denver and NYC, however, those buses hold only a fraction of the total number of immigrants that have been seen.
Additionally, officials in Chicago have publicized that there has been a $538 million deficit generated from many factors. These include “the cost to care for new migrants arriving in the city.” At least $200 million has been caused from special project costs, such as immigrant care, according to NBC Chicago.
Denver officials have previously claimed that it is not a sanctuary city, but city commands do limit cooperation with immigration officials, leading conservatives, including the governor of Texas, to call it a Sanctuary City.
Other city officials have also brought up the major issue of the influx of immigrants they are facing, including Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey (D-Mass.). Last month, Healey informed citizens about the state of emergency in the liberal state.
Additionally, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D-Calif.) explained recently that she is “fearful” that any day, “planes could start coming.”
Simultaneously, at the border itself, several Border Patrol sectors across the country are overwhelmed as they face over 8,000 illegal immigrant encounters each day of the week. This has resulted in street releases of immigrants across San Diego and Tucson as officials try to deal with the overflowing of their migrant shelters.
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