(DailyAnswer.org) – The Democrat-run city of Denver has announced it will commit $45 million to funding programs to help address the rising number of migrants. As a result, the city’s police department will face a budget cut of over $8 million.
Mayor Mike Johnston revealed the $45.9 million package to fund the programs for the city’s “newcomers” in 2024. The proposed budget comes in addition to previous budget moves amounting to $44 million already secured for the program. The city’s spending on the migrants it has taken in skyrocketed from $2 million a month in August 2023 to $15 million in December. Migrant numbers peaked at roughly 5,000 in shelters in January but have dropped to about 1,000 since, according to official statistics.
Johnston stated that Denver finally had a “sustainable plan” for addressing the number of migrants in the city, praising the program for “treating our newcomers with dignity” while limiting the most drastic cuts to city services. A spokesperson for the mayor denied that the cuts would be defunding the police, claiming that the police would recruit 167 additional personnel in 2024. The spokesperson stressed that the cuts would not affect public services or take police officers off the streets.
The Democrats are not alone in calling for the defunding of the police; some Democrats criticized Republican House Speaker and Louisiana Representative Mike Johnson in March over plans to cut several federal agencies’ budgets. Johnson blamed President Joe Biden for the country’s predicament, arguing that federal agencies were overreaching and turning against American citizens. The conservative plans include cutting the Department of Justice’s budget by 3%, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives funding by 7%, the FBI’s by 6% and the Environmental Protection Agency’s by 10%.
Johnston said at a press conference that the budget plan was proof that the city’s most complex challenges can still be solved in a way that is both compassionate and fiscally responsible. The proposed cuts to the city’s budget will go to a full city council vote on April 22. If passed, the plan could enter effect by May 10. City official Andres Carrea recently urged migrants to go to Chicago and New York instead of Denver due to the lack of resources available to support them in Colorado. She suggested that there were more job opportunities in the sanctuary cities.
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