Migrants in Denver: How many have arrived in the city?

Cots set up in an emergency shelter for people arriving from the southern U.S. border, set up at a Denver rec center. Dec. 13, 2022. (Pool Photo: Kevin J. Beaty / Denverite) (Pool Photo: Kevin J. Beaty / Denverite)

by: Colleen Flynn

Posted: Dec 27, 2022 / 04:53 PM MST

Updated: Jan 3, 2023 / 08:41 PM MST

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DENVER (KDVR) — The Mile High City has experienced an influx of migrants that began at the beginning of December and hasn’t slowed down since.

By the end of December, nearly 3,000 migrants had found their way to Denver. Most ended up in shelters, while others left the city after making connections and headed to their final destinations.

The spike in migrant arrivals began at the beginning of the month, but the city has only released daily counts since Dec. 16. See those numbers in the graph below.

An emergency shelter was opened to accommodate the first wave that showed up around the weekend of Dec. 3. More shelters have been opened as more people have arrived in the city.

The Office of Emergency Management activated its operations center and the Joint Information Center on Dec. 8 to coordinate the city’s response to the increase of migrants. Denver Mayor Michael Hancock issued an emergency declaration for the city and county on Dec. 15.

The migrants are from South and Central American countries, mostly from Venezuela, but the OEM said their travel here is not believed to be politically organized.