(The Center Square) – The city of Denver is consolidating homeless shelters and cutting other city services to reduce expenses amid an ongoing migrant crisis that has cost city taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.
At a Wednesday news conference, Mayor Mike Johnson said the city will close four shelters – one a week over the next month – with individuals moved to other shelters that remain open.
Among the shelters set up to house the flood of migrants were hotels and motels converted to non-congregate settings and paid for by city taxpayers. These shelters will begin to be phased out.
“The reason we’re phasing these out one per week over the next four weeks is we have organized the populations of those hotels to be naturally drawing down,” Johnston said. “As they draw down close to a close, we will consolidate them, and anyone left at that site will move to another site.”
Citing its own migrant crisis at the border, the state of Texas has bused more than 16,400 migrants to Denver over the past year-plus. Texas also has bused tens of thousands of illegal border crossers to Chicago, New York, Washington D.C. and elsewhere.
On Feb. 5, the city of Denver started enforcing 42-day limits on migrants living in city-owned shelters, The Center Square previously reported.
Denver schools also have been impacted by the flood of foreign nationals arriving in the city, taking in as many as 250 new students a week since the new year.
Denver faces a nearly $60 million budget deficit, but Johnston has said for the city to maintain current services for migrants, it would cost taxpayers well over $100 million over the next year.
Communities near Denver are saying that they aren’t equipped financially to deal with Denver’s influx of migrants that they claim Denver is sending their way.
