Lakewood, Colorado, residents ask the municipal council to refrain from assisting nearby Denver with its immigration crisis.
Rumors that Lakewood, Colorado, could accommodate migrants have been refuted time and again by officials.
Despite official denials, a Colorado city’s residents crowded a council meeting on Monday night to voice their indignation about the possibility of serving as a haven for migrants who are trying to enter the country illegally.
Denver, the state capital, is only a few miles away from Lakewood, and the two communities frequently cooperate. But Lakewood refused to open its doors and become a sanctuary for migrants when Denver announced it would. Denver opened shelters for refugees, but they soon filled up, and it now looks like Lakewood is taking on the situation.
Rumors that Lakewood, Colorado, could accommodate migrants have been refuted time and again by officials.
Despite official denials, a Colorado city’s residents crowded a council meeting on Monday night to voice their indignation about the possibility of serving as a haven for migrants who are trying to enter the country illegally.
Denver, the state capital, is only a few miles away from Lakewood, and the two communities frequently cooperate. But Lakewood refused to open its doors and become a sanctuary for migrants when Denver announced it would. Denver opened shelters for refugees, but they soon filled up, and it now looks like Lakewood is taking on the situation.
There is no intention to lodge migrants in Lakewood, according to City Manager Kathy Hodgson, during Monday night’s city council meeting.
The meeting that Lakewood government officials had last month with Denver officials to discuss the immigration problem has caused concern among the locals.
The meeting’s goal was to discuss how Lakewood could assist with the migration problem, but Hodgson clarified that there isn’t a formal plan in place and that any aid would be voluntary.
The officials were talking about “how Lakewood can learn about the migrant crisis and discuss potential opportunities to partner as a good neighbor, responding to the increasing migrant population arriving in Denver.”
“There is a lot of flux in the situation. At that point, we discovered that Denver had welcomed more than 38,000 migrant immigrants in the previous year. And there have been almost 200 arrivals every day since December of 2022,” she added. That is what we discovered. In 2023, Denver had invested around $46 million in the shelter for migrant newcomers and related services, securing homes for 4,000 individuals through 900 leases and feeding over 700,000 people.
Approximately $4 million has been their monthly average cost. At that moment, Denver stated that they expected the costs to reach about $180 million in 2024. But, she added, Denver is not looking to place its migrants in Lakewood facilities.
“Due to the shift away from placing migrant newcomers in shelters, Lakewood is not being solicited for hotel, motel or congregate housing support,” Hodgson said. “Denver is initiating what’s called a coordinated entry program, which is dispersing migrant groups to willing cities throughout the country and outside of the Denver metro area.”
According to the city manager, the Democratic mayor of Denver, Mike Johnston, is transporting migrants around the nation via Denver’s Onward Travel initiative.
According to the city manager, Democratic mayor of Denver Mike Johnston is transporting migrants around the nation via Denver’s Onward Travel initiative.
Roughly 50% of the recently arrived individuals consciously opt to relocate. Denver has bought over 19,000 tickets for migrants’ onward travel in 2023, spending over $5 million on average per ticket, the speaker said.
Hodgson restated the statement, saying, “Lakewood has not been asked to take part in the onward travel scheme and has no involvement in this initiative. Outreach to cities outside of the Denver metro area is the main goal.”
The city council meeting on Monday night followed an emergency community meeting on Tuesday, during which hundreds of locals complained about identical issues.
Speaking at the meeting on Tuesday, resident Karen Morgan claimed that although Lakewood has not used the term “sanctuary,” it has used terms like “good neighbor, welcoming, inclusive, supporting, sheltering,” according to FOX31.
“To feel safe or consoled is one way to characterize a sanctuary. “Synonym: refuge,” she continued.
