Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) announced on Monday his state will no longer send processed and released migrants who illegally crossed the southern border to New York City and Chicago following dialogue with the two respective mayors.
The increased number of people being sent to Chicago or New York City stemmed from the backlogged travel plans that were put on hold during the winter storm that barreled through most of the country, causing flights and buses to come to a standstill. The final chartered transportation from Colorado to New York was completed Tuesday.
"People fleeing violence and oppression in search of a better life for themselves and their families deserve our respect not political games and we are grateful we have been able to assist migrants to reach their final destination. We refuse to keep people against their will if they desire to travel elsewhere. While the federal government and Congress, unfortunately, have failed the American people on immigration reform and border security, Colorado continues to assure culturally competent and humane support to help assist migrants escaping oppression," said Polis.
Governor Polis has been clear that Congress and the Biden-Harris administration must assist states who are facing these challenges through no fault of their own and looks forward to partnering with the federal government to provide work permits for migrants who want to contribute to Colorado’s thriving economy, and enact better border security and finally pass real immigration reform.
Mayor Eric Adams (D) had complained about Polis' program, as they have to deal with the state of Texas sends buses from their border towns in order to relieve pressure off of the local resources.
Similar to border towns along the U.S.-Mexico border, there has been an increase number of homeless migrants in Denver. Around 3,000 of them have arrived in Colorado since last December as illegal crossings surged in the El Paso Sector.
Venezuelans migrants in their 20's tell me they arrived in Denver 3 days ago and crossed illegally into El Paso from Ciudad Juarez. They are currently living in a local homeless shelter at the moment pic.twitter.com/e4twn9wZ0q
— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) January 6, 2023
Manuel from Honduras has been living in a downtown homeless shelter since November 27. He tells me has no family in Denver and came because he believed he could quickly find a job but that hasn't been the case t pic.twitter.com/BDR3U7UeIa
— Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) January 6, 2023
Join the conversation as a VIP Member