1 week Ago
America’s illegal immigration crisis is spilling into metro Denver. At last count, nearly 41,000 immigrants have arrived in the city in the last 16 months, and officials said the response this year will cost $90 million. Meanwhile, Aurora, Douglas County and other jurisdictions have adopted resolutions saying they cannot afford to spend money on the crisis.
Join elected officials and experts for a town hall on the crisis that a recent poll says is now the primary issue for Coloradans. Metro Denver's regional leaders on Tuesday delved into what one official described as the moral obligation to help immigrants who have arrived in Colorado after illegally crossing America's southern border, as well as the economic and fiscal impact of spending potentially $90 million of taxpayer dollars this year alone on the crisis. And while everyone agreed that the federal government must solve the crisis, some said Denver's response — which notably includes free shelter and onward transportation — incentivizes the immigrants to travel from the border to the metropolis, exacerbating the problem that is also spilling over into nearby communities, even those that have deliberately and publicly avoided the "sanctuary" label.
But there were also points of agreement, notably the need to find a way for the immigrants to be able to legally work quicker. The Denver Gazette and Colorado Politics, along with partner 9News, hosted the town hall at the National Western Center in Denver. Joining the.
