The city of Denver, Colorado declared on Wednesday that it will spend $89.9 million on assistance for illegal immigrants who entered the country without authorization from the federal government. The announcement came shortly after the Denver Police Department verified to The Daily Caller that the state is cutting its budget by $8.4 million.
The mostly Democrat-controlled city of Denver intends to defund its police force and its fire department to divert the funds to support illegal immigrants who are not originally from the United States in the first place.
The city plans to use the $90 million in funds to provide illegal immigrant families with a debit card based on family size, free housing, language instruction classes to learn English, career placement services, industry training and work-based learning opportunities. More than half of that money — $45 million of it — will be coming from public programs and services.
Dem Denver Mayor: 'We Want to Be a Welcoming City' for Illegal Immigrants
https://t.co/Aw0mkLCauN— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 13, 2024
According to Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D), “The program also includes access to language instruction, career pathway explorations, industry-recognized credential training and work-based learning opportunities.”
In 2023, the Mile High City surpassed all other U.S. cities in terms of newly arriving illegal immigrants per capita. Over 40,000 arrived that year alone, bringing the total number of illegal aliens living in the city to around 710,000, according to a report by NBC News.
Denver plans to spend over $100 million on similar expenses this year after it spent over $42 million on housing and medical care for illegal migrants last year.
In addition to cutting the police department budget by $8.4 million, the city is also cutting the Denver Fire Department budget by $2.5 million.
Mayor Johnston bragged about the new budget in a post on X, formerly Twitter, “Today, we shared a new budget and a more sustainable newcomer program. Proud of our city for welcoming those most in need. Proud of our city teams who found ways to minimize budget without major impacts.”
Today, we shared a new budget and a more sustainable newcomer program.
Proud of our city for welcoming those most in need. Proud of our city teams who found ways to minimize budget without major impacts.
More on this announcement: https://t.co/ULGYHfPJFn pic.twitter.com/AErsLXhvTr
— Mayor Mike Johnston (@MikeJohnstonCO) April 11, 2024
“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 said.
