Metro Denver’s regional leaders on Tuesday delved into what one official described as the moral obligation to help immigrants who have arrived in Colorado after illegally crossing America’s southern border, as well as the economic and fiscal impact of spending potentially $90 million of taxpayer dollars this year alone on the crisis.       

And while everyone agreed that the federal government must solve the crisis, some said Denver’s response — which notably includes free shelter and onward transportation — incentivizes the immigrants to travel from the border to the metropolis, exacerbating the problem that is also spilling over into nearby communities, even those that have deliberately and publicly avoided the “sanctuary” label.

But there were also points of agreement, notably the need to find a way for the immigrants to be able to legally work quicker.         

The Denver Gazette and Colorado Politics, along with partner 9News, hosted the town hall at the National Western Center in Denver. Joining the panel were Adam Paul, the regional affairs director for the Denver mayor’s office; Douglas County Commissioner Abe Laydon; Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman; Prof. Violeta Chapin, dean of community and culture at the University of Colorado Law School; and, DJ Summers, director of policy and research at the Common Sense Institute.

Against the backdrop of more than 41,000 immigrants arriving in Denver over the last 16 months, Paul fielded questions from the night’s moderators, Colorado Politics and Denver Gazette editor Luige del Puerto and reporter Nico Brambilla, about the cost to the city and the region. The crisis has compelled the City and County of Denver to impose budget cuts that, among other things, affect public safety spending, underscoring the fiscal strain caused by the influx of immigrants.

Paul said that, after some initial cuts to operating hours for local services, services at local recreation centers and the DMV have been fully restored. Paul also offered assurances that the city is not laying off officers and firefighters but is instead looking internally to find where reasonable spending cuts could be made.

Early in the crisis, Denver officials decided the city would assume the responsibility to temporarily house, feed and transport arriving immigrants. That decision has cost the city about $68 million since December 2022 — and counting. Of that amount, the city spent $35 million just in the past four months.

To come up with the $90 million, the city is freezing or staggering hiring of about 160 vacant positions and pulling money from several places, including from capital funds, technology projects, services and supplies.

Summers said research at the Common Sense Institute has shown Denver is cutting more than $17 million from public safety departments.

But, ultimately, the issue is about the economic implications of the crisis, he said.

“The conversation here, economically, is legitimately about exactly that,” he said, noting that more people means more economic activity — more individuals working and purchasing is “economic fuel.”

An important backdrop, Summers said, is that Colorado is simply not producing enough people to replenish its population, which means it must attract people from outside of the state. Whether they come from another country or from another part of America is “beside the point,” he said.  

As a case in point, he said, that there are two jobs available for every employed person in Colorado.

“All that being said, there are economic consequences in the meantime,” Summers said, as the immigrants can’t immediately legally work and the city is spending significant amounts to care for them.

And Denver’s local spending doesn’t count the cost to education and health care, he added. 

From November through January, for example, the UCHealth system assumed more than $17 million in uncompensated care for the patients. Within that timeframe, UCHealth officials estimated that the health system saw roughly 5,800 immigrant patients who are new to the system. This represents a 69% growth in this patient cohort, compared to the same period in the previous year.

Meanwhile, Colorado lawmakers have directed $24 million in one-time funds from the state education fund to the Department of Education, an allocation that aims to help districts address any increases in enrollment that occurred after the pupil count. Many of the newly-enrolled students are immigrants who came to the United States with their families.

Wednesday’s panelists expressed major disagreements, notably over Denver’s response. 

Laydon, the Douglas County commissioner, maintained that Denver’s “sanctuary city” designation, along with the services it is offering to the immigrants, is a draw. 

Likening the situation to a growing leak, Laydon said, “I appreciate (Denver) spending $180 million to clean the wet floors in the bathroom, but you just need to turn off the faucet. Denver needs to reverse its policy of being a sanctuary city.”

Laydon was referring to the Johnston administration’s initial estimate, calculated when between 4,000 and 5,000 immigrants were at city shelters, that the crisis could cost the city up to $180 million. The city has since revised that figure down to $90 million.   

Paul disagreed with the commissioner, saying Denver did not ask for the problem. He noted that the country’s eyes are fixed on Colorado’s largest city, which gives Denver the opportunity to become an example for the rest of the nation to follow.

Despite their differences, the panelists agreed that the immigration system in the U.S. is broken. They said the federal government is not stepping in to fix the problem or reimburse states shouldering the financial burden.

Chapin said the primary issue is that nothing has changed about easing the path for the immigrants to get lawful status, adding it sometimes can take up to six months to get work authorization, not to mention the same set of problems facing the millions who are already living and working in America prior to the immigration surge over the past several months.

In the meantime, Chapin said, the federal government remains insistent on being the only “official authority” over immigration, thereby limiting a state’s ability to develop its work permit programs and get immigrants legally employed.

“The federal government makes it hard for immigrants to support themselves once they get to the U.S.,” Chapin said.

Chapin and Summers agreed that the impact on the U.S. economy is positive once immigrants are working.

However, Summers said immigrants only positively affect the economy when they are, in fact, employed, paying taxes and spending money. Without work authorization, cities like Denver face a net negative because so much money is being spent on putting children into local schools, paying for immigrants’ housing, feeding them and providing other services.

Agreeing that the system is broken, Coffman, a former congressman, said that historically, neither Republicans nor Democrats have been willing to set aside their ideological differences to adopt a comprehensive solution.

Coffman pointed to the most recent efforts by Democrats and Republicans to come up with a solution and how, he said, at former President Donald Trump’s urging, Republicans withdrew support, dooming the measure.

While serving in Congress, Coffman recalled a similar issue in which then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi instructed Democrats not to work with Republicans, he said. 

“Congress has failed the American people,” Coffman said. “The situation right now is overwhelming and the product of a broken system.”

The panel also addressed how the influx of immigrants could affect law enforcement.

Denver is surrounded by counties and cities that have deliberately avoided being tagged with a “sanctuary status.” Worried about getting saddled with the costs after seeing what’s unfolding in Denver, they are trying to deter immigrants from coming into their territories.

“When you offer resources at a certain spot, it is a welcome sign at an improper location,” Laydon said, referring more specifically to Denver’s approach. 

Chapin disagreed with the commissioner, claiming that, when local authorities are working with federal immigration authorities, immigrants are in more danger, are unwilling to call the police when they need help, and neighborhoods where they live can become less safe.

“The people who come here often have small children and just want to work and live,” Chapin said. “The majority of them are just here seeking refuge. The federal government makes that difficult.”

Coffman said he worries about the wait time for immigrants to obtain work authorization. 

“Desperate people will do desperate things,” he said.