Denver suburb residents outraged over migrant crisis
Lakewood, Colorado resident Karen Morgan details how sanctuary cities like Denver are struggling with the migrant influx.
Denver Democratic Mayor Mike Johnston conceded there would be "shared sacrifice" to reach the sanctuary city's goal of being a "welcoming" place for illegal immigrants.
The mayor's remarks came during a CNBC interview for its "Cities of Success" series that aired on April 11 and was originally filmed in February.
Around 40,000 migrants have arrived in Denver since last year, primarily from Texas. The surge has strained city resources and forced Johnston to cut millions from the budget in order to accommodate the migrants.
In the recent CNBC interview, host Carl Quintanilla asked Johnston to respond to residents who are angered by Denver's "generous" sanctuary city policy.
Mayor Mike Johnston recently announced major Denver city government budget cuts so that it may better deal with its migrant crisis. ((Photo by RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images))
Johnston defended Denver's policy as a "balanced" approach to dealing with the crisis without having any federal aid.
"It's a balance. We want to be a welcoming city," Johnston began.
He explained how he did not want migrant families to be left out in the cold on the streets, but he also wanted to provide high quality public services for taxpayers.
"In this context, without any support to do both of those things, [it] requires shared sacrifice, it requires compromise. So, we are both making cuts to city budgets to meet this financial need, and we are making cuts to the amount of services we can provide to the migrants that arrive and to the number of folks that we can serve," he continued.
800 MIGRANT FAMILIES BEING BOOTED FROM DENVER SHELTERS AS CITY NEARS BREAKING POINT
A migrant lies on the sleeping pad at a makeshift shelter in Denver, Colorado on Jan. 13, 2023. (Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
In March, city officials pleaded with property owners to "house" migrants after it scaled back some of its migrant services to reduce the budget deficit.
Mayor Johnston announced last week that nearly $46 million would be slashed from the budget to help fund a $90 million package funding migrant aid and housing for the rest of the year, Fox31 reported.
The Mayor's Office is taking the biggest cut at 9.6%, followed by a 6.1% cut from the Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency Department. There were also several other reported cuts, including to the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, City Attorney's Office, Sheriff's Department, Police Department and Public Library.
Johnston previously predicted the crisis would cost the city around $180 million in 2024.
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Fox News' Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
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