The surge of migrants inundating Denver due to the Biden administration's border policies has cost the American city millions, officials have revealed.
To be more specific, the city in Colorado has racked up expenses of close to $24.8 million on migrant sheltering efforts, as per figures cited in a US media report.
Colorado has not positioned itself as a “sanctuary state” – a term loosely used to refer to places politically “sympathetic” to undocumented immigrants who are in the US illegally. Nevertheless, in August, the city spent over $23 million on the migrant crisis. With expenses of up to $1,000 per migrant per week, in April the city was anticipated to spend close to $20 million over the course of six months.
On August 19, the number of migrants residing in Denver surpassed 800 for the first time since June 6, as per City of Denver data. The huge costs incurred by the city authorities on migrants come as Denver has the10th highest rate of homelessness across the country, at 231.6 per 100,000, based on 2022 counts from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
After US President Joe Biden scrapped the federal COVID emergency Title 42 health order on May 11, which dated back to the Trump administration and allowed US Border Patrol to turn migrants away at the border, waves of migrants surged due to expectations of more lenient immigration policies, US media reports have speculated.
Furthermore, with border towns in states like Texas overwhelmed by thousands of people illegally crossing in from Mexico because of Biden’s immigration policies, in May, Colorado’s capital became the fifth Democratic-run destination for busloads of migrants sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The Texas governor, whose actions have been echoed by authorities in Arizona and Florida, has been sending buses filled with illegal immigrants to the US capital and major self-pronounced "sanctuary" cities.
"Until the President and his Administration step up and fulfill their constitutional duty to secure the border, the State of Texas will continue busing migrants to self-declared sanctuary cities like Denver to provide much-needed relief to our small border towns,” Abbott said in a statement in May.
According to Abbott, Texas has bused over 35,000 migrants to such Democratic strongholds, with "over 11,300 to D.C., Over 13,300 to NYC, Over 6,700 to Chicago, Over 2,600 to Philadelphia, Over 1,000 to Denver, Over 480 to L.A."
The US-Mexico border has seen record numbers of illegal entries since President Joe Biden took office. Republicans have blamed the border chaos on Joe Biden’s determination to “undo everything former President Donald Trump had done.” The current administration's open border policies and elimination of several strict measures imposed by the former president to combat illegal migration have been vehemently denounced. Earlier this summer, the Biden administration also reversed Donald Trump's immigration policy which compelled asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in US immigration courts.
According to data cited in a US media report, Border Patrol authorities seized at least 91,000 migrants who crossed the border in family groups in August, with the number of unaccompanied youngsters arriving having also spiked.