DENVER – Facing a budget deficit of $120 million for 2024 and citing an 86% decrease in the number of South and Central American immigrants arriving to the city since mid-January, City of Denver officials on Monday announced the closure of three additional hotel shelters by the end of this week.
The announcement comes a little more than a month after Mayor Mike Johnston announced the city would be shutting down four of its seven immigrant shelters each week during the month of March in an effort to save the city $60 million from a projected $180 million deficit in the 2024 budget, as Denver sought to sensibly respond to the immigrant crisis from the southern border.
At the time, 2,300 people escaping instability in their home countries were staying at a Denver-run shelter, with around 30 people arriving daily. That number has dropped to about 730 people staying at city-run shelters, with 16 or so people arriving each day on average, according to the city’s dashboard.
In addition to the immigrant hotel closures this week, the city will also close one of two congregate shelters on Saturday, a spokesperson said in a news release.
In all, the city will shut down the Comfort Inn on Tower Rd., the Comfort Inn on Peoria St., and the Comfort Suites on 6th and Federal. The McNichols congregate shelter will the one closing by the end of this week, the spokesperson said.
Denver is still looking for volunteers to aid in its immigrant response
While the city has helped nearly 1,400 people apply for work authorization visas since February, city officials said Monday they still need volunteers to help run those clinics. If you’d like to volunteer for one of those clinics, click here.
While clothing donations aren’t needed as much these days, donors interested in helping out can call 303-514-0643 to see how they best can help the city. Before heading out though, make sure to read these instructions.
Those who wish to help should also consider giving to the Newcomers Fund. Donations will go directly to the city’s nonprofit partners who are supporting immigrants with resource navigation, work authorization, shelter, and other services. You can also help by volunteering your time to support the response, city officials said.
As of Monday, Denver has supported 40,295 immigrants from the southern border at a cost of more than $63 million, the spokesperson said.
