(DailyAnswer.org) – Democratic Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has cut funding to the city’s services to foot the bill for the migration crisis hitting the city. Johnston blamed Congress for failing to pass laws on illegal immigration and funding after the city already spent $4 million on sending illegal immigrants to other states. The Mayor also claimed that former President Donald Trump and the Republicans were responsible for his decision to cut $5 million from public services to cover the costs of the migrant crisis. Roughly 40,000 migrants, mainly from Venezuela, arrived in Denver over the past year, with almost 3,500 being housed in hotels using the city’s funds.
Johnston blamed Republicans for not backing the Senate’s bipartisan “Emergency National Security Bill,” amounting to a total of $118 billion, $60 billion of which would go to Ukraine, $14 billion of which would go to Israel and $20 billion of which would be invested in southern border security. Despite resistance from several Republicans who argued that the border control funding was insufficient and dwarfed by money the bill seeks to send to Ukraine, 22 Republican senators ultimately sided with the Democrats in voting through the bill. Johnston suggested when Republicans were still delaying the passing of the bill that the party was only causing more suffering for both the American people and migrants to benefit from the migrant crisis leading up to the November 2024 presidential election, arguing that the flow of migrants with the proper work authorization could be effectively integrated into cities like Denver with sufficient federal funding.
The mayor has claimed that “conservative” CEOs of companies have been calling daily asking why they cannot hire illegal immigrants and put them to work. Johnston has suggested illegal immigrants be given preferential treatment while awaiting trial for illegally crossing the border, which can take several years, arguing that he is only doing what “good people” do by sticking to their values. The mayor referred to the cutting of funds – which will reduce Parks and Recreation funding by a quarter and limit the hours of operation of several Department of Motor Vehicles offices and local community services – as a “shared sacrifice” that the city must bear to ensure migrants are not left living in tents on the streets.
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