Colorado Politics

Denver to deactivate emergency for immigration response

In response to a declining number of arriving immigrants, the city and county of Denver is ending the emergency activation created to address the surge.

This is the second demobilization this year of emergency operations related to the influx of immigrants from South and Central America.

Emergency operations were activated on May 11 to manage an expected surge with the expiration of Title 42, a pandemic-related policy that allowed the government to quickly expel immigrants at the Mexican border.

As of Friday, the response will be handled by the Denver Department of Human Services.

Since the Title 42 policy sunset, the city has built its capacity to address the humanitarian response, officials said Friday.

“Denver is a welcoming city, and we continue to do everything we can to support the people affected by this humanitarian crisis,” Mayor Michael B. Hancock said in a press release. “Thanks to the work in the EOC over the past six weeks, we remain prepared for possible future influxes.”

As of Friday, Denver has sheltered and supported nearly 11,300 migrants at a cost of more than $17.8 million.

Denver has been reimbursed roughly 20% of those costs.

The influx is emblematic of the U.S. border crisis with Mexico, which has spilled over into America’s interior and to cities hundreds of miles from the border, including Denver.

Last month alone, city officials received nearly 3,900 immigrants.

The majority of these immigrants – like those crossing into El Paso, Texas -intend to resettle somewhere else.

A Venezuelan woman and her 2-year-old son check in with a Spanish-speaking volunteer at Denver’s immigrant reception center on Thursday, May 11, 2023.
Nicole C. Brambila/The Denver Gazette
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