Denver Democratic Mayor Mike Johnston announced nearly $46 million in funds to be reallocated from city services in order to address a surge of illegal aliens.
Some 40,000 illegal aliens have entered Denver over the past year, causing a $120 million budget shortfall for the city as the capital of Colorado witnesses the most significant per-capita influx of illegal aliens in the country. The plan to offer services for the illegal aliens, referred to as “newcomers” in a press release issued by Johnston, therefore involves an $8.4 million budget reduction for the police department and a $2.5 million budget reduction for the fire department.
The two departments will respectively see 1.9% cuts and 0.8% cuts to their operating budgets. Some training for new police officers and firefighters will occur at Denver International Airport, which will pay for the programs, and emergency phone operators will be paid differently.
“After more than a year of facing this crisis together, Denver finally has a sustainable plan for treating our newcomers with dignity while avoiding the worst cuts to city services,” Johnston commented in the press release. “So many times we were told that we couldn’t be compassionate while still being fiscally responsible. Today is proof that our hardest challenges are still solvable, and that together we are the ones who will solve them.”
Denver will be able to fund the programs for illegal aliens without layoffs or furloughs of city staff by decreasing supply purchases, deferring capital and technology projects, and reducing hires.
The latest budget plan was announced after leaked video showed a Johnston staffer pleading with illegal aliens to leave Denver and travel to other urban areas in the United States. He told illegal aliens gathered in a migrant shelter that the “opportunities” for them “are over” in Denver relative to other cities and claimed better job opportunities existed elsewhere.
The nearby cities of Colorado Springs and Aurora recently enacted resolutions clarifying that they are not sanctuary cities and paused funds directed toward services for illegal aliens.
