You have to give the officials inside Denver City Hall a little credit. Unlike much of the waffling and equivocating we normally expect from our civic leaders, at least in the Mile High City they remain committed to their pledge of being a sanctuary city. This is not to say their pledge is in any way pragmatic – or even sane. But they remain committed all the same (while they should be committed, to a mental health facility.)
Denver is considered a sanctuary city for immigrants, and as such the municipality has become a magnet for these new crowds, courtesy mostly from Texas Governor Greg Abbott. These “uninvited repatriated arrivals” (to play the leftist euphemism game) have gathered in Denver to such a degree that for some time now the elected officials have been grappling with the self-created issue of financial hardship. They refuse to learn the lesson of their own failings.
The cost being incurred has grown to an unsustainable level, so the first impacted decision was reached that in order to save money city workers would be fuloughed, and some of those positions would become filled with immigrant workers. The concept of citizens being penalized in order to cater to illegal arrivals was then actually extended to a more insane decision. As the money problem only worsened for the city budget the next move was to save millions of dollars of municipal spending – by cutting funding from vital city services.
The plan is for the police department to lose over $8 million from its budget, the Sheriff’s Depart will be cut by $3.8 million, and even the Fire Department will lose out on $2.4 million. Also being trimmed are transportation services and infrastructure operations. It is the city looking at its citizens with disdain, seeking to punish them in the name of a solution. Residents who pay taxes for these municipal services now watch while their money is doled out directly to these illegals, as their own lives are now impacted and threatened by these budget decisions.
As a result of this move to cut the police department drastically, Denver officials have announced a new “solution”: Robocops! In order to fill the void at the - literally - defunded police, Denver will now be responding to emergency calls…with drones.
Picture this: You call 911 and a drone comes whirring to your door instead of a police officer.
— The Denver Post (@denverpost) May 29, 2024
That could soon be a reality along parts of Colorado’s Front Range. https://t.co/rAFGJ5tIG2
In past years the use of drones was shot down by the DPD when the proposal was brought a couple of times, but this has become a needed option. The cash-strapped police department is using a $100,000 grant from the Denver Police Foundation to launch its drone program.
Already it is known that police response times are minutes in the making, at best. Now there is a possibility that a remote scouting mission will first be deployed to a 911 call and the decision will be made whether officers will be dispatched. The mind ponders if this will also become a standard with Fire-Rescue departments. The drone might assess the severity of an injury on site and, if applicable, instead of sending out paramedics, for example, it could simply airdrop bandages and topical applications. Emergency first-aid could be remotely attended to like the Amazon delivery drones.
The result of cutting services and directing this magnanimous largesse by the city leaders - using the confiscated money from the residents - is that the immigrants have now issued a list of demands that they are expecting to be fulfilled by the politicians. Seriously. As the city attempts to deliver needed care and food for the illegal immigrants, a group residing in a pop-up tent city has sent the mayor over a dozen requirements they expect to be fulfilled, before they agree to move into sheltered facilities with food provided.
The migrants have been lobbied by Denver Human Services to get off the street and into shelters — an offer that remains, according to city officials. But they are holding out and said the city has reneged on its deal with them, while the city maintains it will continue to offer services to migrants that choose shelter over encampments.
This is the kind of leadership the citizens of Denver voted for, and they are incurring the results of those decisions. When illegals are granted priority over the citizens who are contributing to the community, and that only leads to more demands from the illegals, this is all you need to see there isn a lesson to be learned by all involved. So Denver citizens are denied basic emergency services, city workers are out of jobs, and the city is going broke as it caters to these illegals – and the result is the illegals demanding more.
The lack of common sense is striking, yet adult leadership seems to be in short supply. Texas should keep sending in the border-crossers to Denver. This will become a more fascinating social experiment.