Fox News confirmed on Friday that a vacant elementary school building in Denver, Colorado, could be converted into a shelter for migrants.
A spokesman for Mayor Mike Johnston, a Democrat, said the building “has been identified as a potential migrant shelter, but no decision has been made and no paperwork has been filed,” adding that the city is “looking for suitable buildings to serve as emergency shelters.”
A spokesperson for Denver Public Schools, which owns the vacant building, told Fox News that “nothing has been decided yet.”
ICE confirms Aurora, Colorado gang members are in the U.S. illegally, Biden administration to release
Denver is a sanctuary city, meaning it does not enforce immigration laws or cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
“The locations you mentioned have been under consideration as possible sites for temporary shelters for newcomers,” John Ewing, a spokesman for the Denver Mayor's Office, explained to Fox News. “No decisions have been made yet and no contracts have been signed.”
“It's also worth pointing out that there are very few new evacuees in the shelters at this time. In the whole of August, around 150 people used the shelter system, but many of them only stayed for a few hours before leaving for other locations.”
Alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang took over an apartment in Aurora, Colorado, and demanded rent in exchange for “protection.” (Edward Romero)
Republican lawmakers have raised alarms about sanctuary cities and open border policies in light of international gang activity in Colorado, where the Tren de Aragua gang was involved in a takeover of an apartment building in Aurora, as shown in surveillance video that surfaced last week.
“The situation in Aurora, Colorado is just the tip of the iceberg of problems associated with the Biden-Harris Administration's open border policy. As gangs run rampant in our cities, Governor Polis and Mayor Coffman are complicit in the violence happening there that puts Americans at risk,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna told Fox News Digital.
“These criminals are reportedly involved in human trafficking and sexual abuse of minors. We must urgently stop the tide of illegal immigration into our country and ensure that justice is served to the victims of these heinous acts.”
Alleged takeover of Aurora, Colorado apartment by Venezuelan gang reportedly began in 2023
Four Venezuelan nationals identified as linked to Tren de Aragua were arrested following a shooting that took place on July 28 outside an occupied apartment building in Aurora.
“The Biden-Harris Administration's open border policies, combined with Colorado's sanctuary policies and Denver's sanctuary city status, are fueling and exacerbating Colorado's migration crisis,” the Republican lawmakers wrote in a letter sent to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Republicans who wrote the letter include Rep. Chip Roy of Texas and Reps. Lauren Boebert, Doug Lamborn and Greg Lopez of Colorado.
One resident said the apartment had been occupied by suspected gang members and the locks had been changed. (Councillor Daniel Jurinski)
“Several local elected officials and the nonpartisan Perkins Coy law firm, which was retained to investigate the takeover, have identified numerous criminal activities committed by TdA gang members, including death threats, robbery, extortion, trespass, assault, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, drug-related crimes, stolen vehicles, human trafficking, and sexual abuse of minors,” the letter continued.
“Non-sanctuary cities and neighboring communities are harmed by these policies and do not have the resources or authority to mitigate the influx of illegal immigrants and TdA gang members.”
“Denver's sanctuary policies and response to the immigration crisis have only made the problem worse and continued to leave America's children behind,” Aurora City Councilman Daniel Jurinski told Fox News Digital.
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Representatives for Roy and Boebert did not respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital before publication.
