The city of Denver has offended illegal immigrants by offering them six months of free food and rent. Illegals claim it simply isn’t enough.
Denver has introduced a new program called the “Asylum Seekers Program,” which shifts funds from city services like police to support the influx of undocumented immigrants, or “newcomers,” in the city. Through this program, immigrants can enter the United States illegally and receive six months of free food and housing upon arrival in Denver.
The program aims to provide approximately 1,000 migrants currently in Denver’s shelter system with six months of free housing, food assistance, workforce training, and additional support while they wait for authorization to work, as reported by the Post. The process of awaiting work authorization can take up to 180 days, a situation that Democratic Mayor Mike Johnston hoped to help with his program.
Despite this offer, undocumented individuals and a migrant advocacy group have criticized it as being inadequate.
The new plan requires migrants arriving in the city to leave shelters within 24-72 hours. After this period, they will receive short-term accommodation at a congregate site and assistance in arranging onward travel to another destination, as reported by the Post. Previously, migrants could stay in shelters for two to six weeks.
Housing advocacy group Housekeys Action Network Denver (HAND) criticized Johnston for these changes, accusing the mayor of not doing enough to support migrants in the city. A HAND spokesperson expressed concern that “every new migrant will be left to fend for themselves after 24 to 72 hours.”The representative called the program “a slap in the face” for an “offensive period of time.”
Illegal immigrant Willy Bastidas also condemned the program, saying that it would “further contribute” to homelessness in Denver. He went on to add, somewhat bizarrely, that “the mayor doesn’t represent” illegal immigrants and that Johnston “needs to listen” to illegals to produce a “better solution.”
Bastidas is right. The mayor doesn’t “represent” illegal immigrants. And he doesn’t have to ‘listen” to illegal immigrants. It’s also hard to think of a more rewarding program than six months of free food, rent, job training, and healthcare.
Like most “sanctuary cities” nationwide, Denver is at a tipping point. The unchecked flow of illegals reached 40,000 in just over two years and has cost Denver well over $58 million, taxed the healthcare system to the breaking point, and forced the mayor to slash funding for essential taxpayer emergency services.
Per Johnston, the total cost of illegal immigration in his city will pass $180 million.
The money has to come from somewhere, and Denver citizens are probably not pleased with Johnston’s budget cuts. The fire department faces cuts, and the police department saw its budget slashed by $8.4 million.
In return, the immigrants receive taxpayer-funded dental care, medical care, childbirth expenses, emergency room visits, and primary care services. According to a report, 8,000 illegals accounted for 20,000 visits to Denver Health in 2023.
In March, Denver made headlines when Johnston began closing migrant shelters due to monetary concerns for his city. At the time, a representative from Denver Human Services said the city was looking for alternative housing situations for the flood of illegals.
Alternative housing that includes private Denver residents to welcome them into their homes, a plea echoing a recent call in Massachusetts for homeowners to house them. City officials are also contacting landlords, asking them to rent to illegals while imposing a $ 2,000-a-month cap on the rent they can expect to recoup.
The average rent in Denver is around $2200 monthly for a two-bedroom apartment and just over $2800 for a three-bedroom apartment in the city.
Migrants may say that six months of free food and rent doesn’t go far enough to help them, but Denver is not legally obligated to provide long-term housing for its illegal population in the first place. Denver has enacted laws to declare itself a “sanctuary city,” but unlike other “sanctuaries” such as New York City, it lacks a right-to-shelter provision. This means Denver has no official policy mandating the local government to provide shelter indefinitely.
Never has any one group been more “entitled” than this herd of illegals who demand Americans foot the bill for their decision to hop the southern border and expect to be rewarded for it. There is also no American who would turn down an offer of six months of free rent, food, or medical care. Once again, Americans would be better served by traveling to the southern border and breaking back into America under an assumed name to benefit from the freebies.
After all, millions of Americans are seeking a better life…in America.
