DENVER (KDVR) — The Mile High City has dealt with a surge of migrants fleeing South America and coming to Colorado as a touch point before continuing their journeys to friends and family across the country.
The Problem Solvers now know the City and County of Denver bused 1,900 migrants during December of 2022. A spokesperson for the city reiterated these migrants asked the city for assistance to get transportation to these destinations. The city facilitated the trips by buying tickets.
Denver spent $492,208 on tickets. The city will use general fund money to pay for the tickets but expects to look to the state and the federal government to “augment or reimburse” expenses, according to a spokesperson for the city.
The Problem Solvers also learned how many migrants Denver has bused out of state in the month of December, and where the city is sending them the most. Big cities like Chicago lead the way, followed by communities including New York City, Miami, Orlando and Atlanta.
FOX31 reached out to the governor’s office with the same questions. Unlike the city, the state asked FOX31 to submit a Colorado Open Records Act request for the information. The state has that request. We will update this story with those details when they become available.
Migrants clearing out of shelters
As migrants leave the city and relocate elsewhere, the capacity of shelters they’ve been staying in has decreased allowing the city to redistribute those needing it.
The city said it’s deactivating one of the recreation centers as an emergency shelter early next week. The migrants at that recreation center will be transferred to other shelter sites.