Residents of a Colorado city packed a Congressional meeting Monday night to express anger over its potential to become a mecca for migrants crossing the southern border, even though officials have formally ruled out such an effort.
Lakewood is just a few miles from the state capital, Denver, and the two cities often support each other. But when Denver opened its doors and declared itself a mecca for immigrants, Lakewood did not. The crisis now appears to have reached Lakewood, as the shelter Denver opened for migrants has reached capacity.
Monday’s City Council meeting comes as officials express a desire to help their neighbors and as the city of Lakewood considers whether to accept federal funding for facilities to help the city’s homeless. It was held.
Residents expressed concern that the shelter could be used to house migrants in the city, creating a border crisis in the community, and later told authorities that the shelter would be used to house migrants from Lakewood rather than from Denver. They asked that the shelter be used to help residents.
Mayor cuts $5 million from public services to deal with crisis, Denver schools overwhelmed by surge of immigrants
Lakewood, Colorado, residents will attend Monday night’s City Council meeting to discuss federal funding that residents say could help house immigrants. (Fox News)
On Monday night, many residents also told City Council they feared immigrants could overwhelm the city’s hospitals and infrastructure, leading to an increase in crime. Residents also said they were concerned about how their tax dollars would be used to pay for immigrants.
At Monday night’s City Council meeting, City Manager Kathy Hodgson said there are no plans to house immigrants in Lakewood.
Residents also said they were concerned about a meeting Lakewood city officials held with Denver city officials last month to discuss the immigration crisis.
The purpose of the meeting was how Lakewood would behave. did it Help with the migrant crisis, but there is no official plan for how the city will help. will do Mr Hodgson explained that the aid was voluntary.
Denver Mayor slams Republicans and President Trump for $5 million in cuts to immigration crisis
He said officials will discuss “how the City of Lakewood can learn about the immigrant crisis, address the growing immigrant population arriving in Denver, and discuss potential opportunities to partner as good neighbors.” He said he did.
“The situation is quite fluid in nature, so we learned at the time that Denver had admitted more than 38,000 new immigrants in the past year, and this was the most since December 2022. And we have about 200 people arriving per day,” she said. “That’s what we learned: Denver will spend approximately $46 million on immigrant newcomer shelters and related supports in 2023, secure housing for 4,000 people through 900 leases, and secure housing for 700,000 people through 900 rentals.” The average cost was about $4 million a month.Denver said at that time that it expected costs to be about $180 million in 2024.
Migrants lay out sleeping pads at a temporary shelter in Denver on January 13, 2023. (Hyun Chang/The Denver Post)
But the city of Denver has no intention of moving immigrants to the Lakewood facility, she said.
“Due to the shift away from housing newcomers in shelters, Lakewood is no longer seeking housing assistance in hotels, motels, or multifamily housing,” Hodgson explained. “The city of Denver has begun what is called a coordinated entry program, dispersing immigrant groups across the country and to desired cities outside the Denver metropolitan area.”
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D) is sending immigrants across the country through Denver’s Onward Travel program, the city manager said.
800 immigrant families evacuated from shelters as Denver nears breaking point
“About half of new arrivals intentionally choose to migrate. Currently, the City of Denver has purchased approximately 19,000 subsequent traffic tickets for immigrants in 2023, at a cost of $5 million. , which averages about $300 per ticket,” she explained.
Attendees raise their hands during a Lakewood City Council meeting on February 6, 2024. (Aaron Ontiveros/The Denver Post)
Hodgson reiterated that “Lakewood has no role in this program and has not been asked to participate in the outbound travel program. The focus is on supporting cities outside of the Denver metropolitan area.”
Monday night’s City Council meeting was held after an emergency community meeting last Tuesday in which hundreds of residents voiced similar complaints.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Karen Morgan, a resident who spoke at Tuesday’s meeting, said the city of Lakewood does not use the word “sanctuary,” but words like “good neighbor, welcoming, inclusive, supportive, and protective.” FOX31 reported.
“One of the definitions of sanctuary is the state of being protected or comforted. A synonym is shelter,” she added.
