(Colorado Newsline) Denver Mayor Mike Johnston joined members of Colorado’s congressional delegation in Washington D.C. Thursday to call for better support of migrants who have come to Colorado at an unprecedented rate since December 2022. 

Alongside Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper as well as Democratic U.S. Reps. Jason Crow of Centennial and Brittany Pettersen of Lakewood at a press conference, Johnston reiterated the financial burden Denver has taken on to support migrants. 

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Without federal support, Denver would need $180 million in its 2024 budget solely to meet the needs of migrants, which would equate to a 10% cut of the city’s entire budget, Johnston said. Denver has served almost 38,000 migrants. More than 4,300 are currently in city shelters. 

Johnston, who is about six months into his first term, said the keys to success for migrants coming into Denver are work authorization and federal funding to support integration efforts, which can all be accomplished through “a clear act of courage” from Congress. Almost every day, Johnston talks to migrants who want to work but cannot, and to employers who want to hire the newcomers but cannot, due to federal restrictions, he said. 

The mayor of Colorado’s largest city shared the story of one woman he spoke to who arrived in Colorado after previously working as a police officer in Venezuela. While in Venezuela, she was asked to tear gas a room full of children and elderly people, and when she refused, the military came to her house in the middle of the night with the intent of killing her and her family, Johnston said. 

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“They instead fled, made a 3,000-mile walk to the United States of America, arrive at the border, get sent on a bus to Denver, and are now looking for work in a place where they have a six-year wait for a court date to be able to get an asylum claim heard,” Johnston said.

Hickenlooper said city leaders like Johnston know how to support migrants, they just need the resources to make it happen

“We have to make sure that any final compromise around the border negotiations taking place right now includes the resources to deliver that structure that every city in this country needs,” Hickenlooper said.

These are business owners, they're our neighbors, they are the lifeblood of our economy in so many ways, and they are the people that we love, that we work with, that we spend time with. That is Colorado.

– Rep. Jason Crow

Congressional leaders met with President Joe Biden Wednesday at the White House to hammer out a deal that would attach immigration policy changes to the administration’s request for aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Senate and House Republicans are refusing to pass the president’s more than $100 billion emergency supplemental funding request without changes to the immigration system.

Bennet, who previously served as superintendent of Denver Public Schools, said the school district is also working with limited resources to support thousands of newly enrolled migrant children. 

“Denver is not seeking to make this somebody else’s problem or somebody else’s issue,” Bennet said. “The citizens of Denver are stepping up to our responsibility as citizens of this great country, but they are not in charge of the immigration policy in the United States, nor should I say is the Denver Public Schools.”

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He said there’s a reason the U.S. Constitution assigned the responsibility of immigration to the federal government. 

“This is one of those cases where we can’t just fail, blame each other as we often do, walk away and say it’s someone else’s responsibility,” Bennet said. “This is our responsibility.”

Crow noted that 20 percent of his constituents were born outside of the U.S. Bennet said the whole economy of Crow’s district would look different without immigration. 

“What we know in the 6th District of Colorado, and in Colorado more largely, is that those immigrants and refugees are a source of great strength and pride,” Crow said. “Our diversity is our strength and our community. These are business owners, they’re our neighbors, they are the lifeblood of our economy in so many ways, and they are the people that we love, that we work with, that we spend time with. That is Colorado.”

Pettersen, whose district includes several counties west of Denver, said it’s frustrating to be a freshman in Congress and watch “the dysfunction.” She said immigration reform needs to be handled through a bipartisan approach focused on finding solutions, not used as “a partisan tactic on winning elections.”

“I compare what’s happening at the border with a health care system that doesn’t exist except showing up at the emergency room,” Pettersen said. “There are no options for people.”

Earlier in January, all of Colorado’s Democrats in Congress wrote to the Federal Emergency Management Agency seeking support for migrants.

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