Colorado town unanimously blocks sanctuary status for migrants: 'Not using taxpayer funds' for this
Monument, Colorado Mayor Mitch LaKind joins 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss his town's move to block sanctuary status for migrants.
A Colorado town voted 7-0 to affirm its status as a non-sanctuary city amid growing fears that migrants could soon flood the area from nearby Denver.
"The goal is to make sure that Denver knows that we will not be accepting any busloads of migrants into our community. The main reason is that we don't have a budget that matches theirs, and we won't utilize taxpayer funds for the support of what they've decided to take on themselves as a self-declared sanctuary city," Mitch LaKind, the mayor of Monument, Colorado, said Wednesday on "Fox & Friends First."
According to The Gazette, a newspaper based in Colorado Springs, The Monument Council reviewed the resolution on Tuesday. It was drafted, in part, "by a press conference held by the El Paso County Commissioners and Colorado Springs City Council member Dave Donelson" in response to news of migrants arriving in Colorado Springs.
LAKEWOOD, COLORADO RESIDENTS URGE CITY COUNCIL NOT TO HELP NEIGHBORING DENVER WITH MIGRANT CRISIS
A map shows Monument, Colorado's location compared to Denver. (Fox & Friends First/Screengrab)
Meanwhile, approximately 40 miles north, the Mile High City grapples with the consequences of unmitigated illegal immigration, its sanctuary status engendering a fiscal and humanitarian crisis that compelled Democratic Mayor Mike Johnston to warn of an approaching "breaking point" during an exclusive interview with Fox News' Lawrence Jones last month.
"I think we have successfully welcomed almost 40,000 migrants in the last year, and we know what it takes to do this successfully," Johnston said.
"We just need that help, and the things we need are federal dollars, but the most important thing is we need work authorization for folks when they arrive. We need those resources at the border, so you can add more security at the border, so you can help process those asylum claims and so the folks that do arrive here can work."
DENVER MAYOR BLAMES REPUBLICANS AND TRUMP FOR $5M CUTS TO PAY FOR MIGRANT CRISIS
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, a Democrat, continues to voice concerns that the massive influx of migrants has pushed his city to a ‘breaking point.’ (Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
LaKind said Wednesday that there is "no room" for migrants in Monument, addressing co-host Carley Shimkus' question concerning those who are making their way to surrounding communities once their allotted stays in Denver have ended.
Migrant families are currently allowed to stay in Denver shelters for 42 days, up from the previous 37-day limit imposed by the city, according to The Denver Post. The time limit for individuals, however, is 14 days.
If migrants make their way to Monument after the resolution's passing, LaKind said "the town administration and police force will work with federal agencies to have them picked up and brought to wherever they would need to be held."
A migrant lie on the sleeping pad at a makeshift shelter in Denver, Colorado on Jan. 13, 2023. (Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
LaKind said he would like to see the Biden administration take action by shutting down the border and launching deportation efforts, urging that it's "time to reverse course."
"The president has the power to do that. He's had the power all along. He's chosen not to."
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