Colorado officials on Monday pleaded for help from the federal government, saying they anticipate an “ocean of needs” with the expected spike of immigrants arriving in Denver beginning this month.

A Trump-era policy that effectively kept border crossings low is expiring this week. Already, Denver officials began to see more immigrants arriving last week.

In a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Mayor Michael Hancock and Gov. Jared Polis urged to the federal government to take action and provide additional resources as Title 42 expires on Thursday.

“We implore the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and relevant federal partner agencies to bolster direct support for non-border jurisdictions that are struggling to meet the immense human need resulting from continued migrant arrivals,” they said in their letter to Alejandro Mayorkas Secretary, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 

“Despite the clear federal responsibility for immigration policy and border security in the United States, the responsibility for recent arrivals has fallen on cities and states across the nation including Denver, the State of Colorado and local non-governmental agencies (NGOs). As a result, we experienced a significant and unreimbursed drain of local financial resources that unfairly and disproportionately impacts our residents.”

For the past four days, Denver said more than 200 new immigrants arrived every day from America’s southern border, a significant increase from the 20-30 people who came to to Denver for much of March and April.

Currently, more than 800 people are housed in four migrant shelters operating in Denver. The shelters are at near-capacity, and officials called on other partners, specifically faith-based communities, to provide overnight shelters for immigrants who are scheduled to leave Denver the next day.

Below are the most up-to-date numbers as of May 7:

• Immigrants who arrived overnight: 241

• Immigrants in city emergency shelters: 123

• Immigrants in partner emergency shelters: 630

• Total number of immigrants served by the city since Dec. 9: 8,123

Hancock and Polis noted the Colorado state government already spent $8.35 million, while Denver has expended more than $14 million since December 2022 to provide shelter, food and support to more than 7,000 immigrants.

“While Federal partners point to the Emergency Food and Shelter Program – Humanitarian (EFSP-H) to help us with expenses, the program is not equipped to keep up with the veritable ocean of human needs as arrivals continue,” they said. “We were encouraged by the increase in funding in the federal fiscal year 2023. But, we are extremely disappointed that the EFSP-H funded neither the City of Denver nor the State of Colorado adequately despite several requests and applications for funding. EFSP-H  funded less than four percent of these massive cost.”

They added: “For perspective, EFSP-H reimbursed the City of Denver for one week’s worth of services.  We remain deeply concerned that our jurisdictions will not be fairly reimbursed for shouldering this unprecedented federal responsibility.”

The two officials said non-border states, such as Colorado, are “very much impacted by this crisis” and that additional funding from the feds is “essential to caring for the needs of immigrants while maintaining solvency of our local finances.”

Since December, Denver has accommodated more than 7,700 immigrants, costing the city more than $14 million through May 5, officials said. 

City officials said the immigrants pick Denver because of El Paso’s relative proximity to Denver, at least in terms of being able to get to the city by bus with relative ease. Organizations that support the immigrant community also highlight the resources and diversity in the community, as well as its status as a “sanctuary city,” as reasons attracting the immigrants to Denver. 

Beginning on May 8, Denver will follow updated federal guidance to provide emergency shelter only to newly-arriving migrants who have been encountered by U.S. immigration officials and only “if there is capacity” to accommodate them. The city said it would continue to connect each immigrant who arrives in Denver to support services and resources. All arriving immigrants – or existing emergency shelters – will get backpacks with hygiene products, the city added. 

Last week, the city said two of its four immigrant shelters are already filled, while the remaining two very soon won’t be able to accommodate more people.

The inpouring of immigrants fleeing Central and South America – particularly Venezuela – is emblematic of the U.S. border crisis with Mexico, a humanitarian crisis that has spilled over into other cities, including Denver, which is more than 600 miles from the Mexican border in El Paso, Texas.

Indeed, cities feel the inescapable brunt of the crisis.

At one point, Hancock said that Denver’s finances “are at the brink.”

“And as mayor and as members of City Council, as agency leaders, we’ve got to be honest and say we can’t do any more. We have come to that point,” he said, blaming the unfolding crisis in his city on the nation’s broken immigration system, saying cities are taking “the brunt” of the federal government’s failures.