The city of Denver has been defending comments made by a city official who was recorded telling newly arrived migrants that they would “suffer” if they stayed there and encouraging them to consider moving to cities like New York City or Chicago instead. Mayor Mike Johnston’s political director, Andres Carrera, expressed concerns about the city running out of resources due to the influx of migrants. The city has been heavily encouraging newly arrived migrants to leave Denver, as resources and opportunities continue to shrink. Denver has received nearly 500 buses of migrants as part of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s campaign to send migrants to Democratic cities, including New York City and Chicago. Overall, the city has received over 40,000 newcomers in the last two years, with about 20,000 of them moving on from Denver.
The city of Denver has been limiting the number of days migrants can stay in shelters and has been focusing on promoting onward travel to destinations where newcomers may have better support networks and opportunities. In the video clip, Carrera mentioned that the opportunities in Denver are over and suggested that migrants go to cities like New York or Chicago, where there are more job opportunities and more shelter time available. Both cities, however, are also contending with an influx of migrants, with Chicago having nearly 10,000 migrants in active shelters and New York City reporting over 64,000 migrants and asylum-seekers in need of shelter. New York City Mayor Eric Adams stated that the city has received around 180,000 migrants since 2022.
Denver has been communicating regularly with cities like New York and Chicago to determine where newcomers may have existing networks or better opportunities for work and housing, but usually doesn’t suggest specific cities. The city has been working to ensure the greatest opportunity for success for both newcomers and the city of Denver in the long term. While there are more migrants in cities like New York and Chicago, Denver has welcomed more people per capita. Like Denver, New York and Chicago have struggled to provide enough resources and housing to keep up with the influx and have implemented measures like shelter evictions to conserve their budgets. Both Chicago and New York City did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the Denver official encouraging migrants to go to those cities instead.
The press secretary for the mayor’s office clarified that the video clip showing Carrera’s comments represented just a small part of the work done by city officials to help newcomers who arrive in Denver. The official said that the city believes promoting onward travel to destinations where newcomers may have better opportunities is a critical part of their strategy to ensure success for both newcomers and the city. Denver has been dealing with a significant number of people being bused from Texas border towns to the city, leading to a strain on resources and opportunities for work and housing. Despite the challenges, the city has been working to assist newcomers in finding support systems and opportunities for a better future.
