A housing advocacy group is slamming Denver’s new Asylum Seekers Program as “insufficient” and “a slap in the face,” even staging a protest to voice their disapproval — as the city spends tens of millions of dollars on migrant aid and slashes its emergency services budget to stave off insolvency in the wake of the influx.
The surge of new arrivals has thrown the Mile High City’s city’s budget into a tailspin. More than 40,000 migrants have found their way to Denver since December 2022 — more per capita than any other US city — at a total cost of around $68 million.
Of those funds, approximately $35 million was spent between December 2023 and March alone, according to Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s office.
The program would be modified to provide “a long-term, sustainable response” that addresses what his office calls a “crisis,” the Democrat said in a statement Wednesday .