Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D-CO) is blaming Republicans for his city’s growing migrant issue, which is an apparent cause of his party’s reckless policies.
Johnston accused GOP lawmakers of the “devastating impact” of the bipartisan border deal that fell through earlier this week.
“I’m here to talk a little bit about the devastating impact of the failure of Republican leadership in Congress this week to pass comprehensive immigration change and the impact that will have both on state budgets and on services that we can provide for newcomers in the city,” Johnston said.
Johnston argued that former President Trump wanted the border crisis to continue despite his policies keeping the stem of illegals out of the country. On the contrary, President Joe Biden's reckless border policies have caused tens of millions of illegal migrants to storm the United States, wreaking havoc on the nation's communities, safety, schools, and resources. The U.S. has seen record-breaking crime as well as deadly gangs bringing drugs such as fentanyl over the border, killing innocent people.
This is the #TrumpBorderCrisis now. Biden, Senate D’s+R’s had a bipartisan solution that would secure the border, put migrants to work+fund affected cities. Trump wanted the crisis to continue, he demanded it continue. And republican leadership folded So this is his policy now.
— Mayor Mike Johnston (@MikeJohnstonCO) February 8, 2024
The Democrat mayor provided his plans of allowing illegal migrants to stay in his city and work if the Senate had accelerated the bill. He also said the bill would have provided resources to cities that are struggling to house the influx of illegal aliens.
“Despite broad bipartisan support, I think [former President] Trump and Republican leaders saw this as a chance that if this bill actually passed, it would have successfully solved the problem facing cities and the border, and they would have rather seen it fail so they could exacerbate these problems, extend the suffering of American people and newcomers for their own electoral changes this November,” Johnston said. “That was far beyond what I expected from even the most cynical political operators.”
I'm proud of what our city has done in the face of the migrant crisis, but without federal aid, we're facing tough choices—starting with cuts to DMV and Parks & Rec. More conversations ahead as we navigate this challenge, but we'll push through. Denver is bigger than this moment. pic.twitter.com/8eiDjQjRRJ
— Mayor Mike Johnston (@MikeJohnstonCO) February 10, 2024
Denver has the largest illegal migrant population per capita than any other U.S. city besides New York. The city has roughly 713,000 residents, in which 40,000 of those are illegal aliens— just in the last year. Johnson has sounded the alarm that the city’s resources are overwhelmed, blaming the federal government for failing to help deter the issue.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Denver spent over $42 million in 2023 on housing and food supplies for new migrants arriving in the city. The Left-leaning town is also trying to provide healthcare to the illegal migrant population, which would cost Denver an additional $10 million.
“Denverites have done their part; the city will do our part. The federal government failed to do their part,” Johnston said on Friday. “Addressing this crisis will require shared sacrifice, but we will continue to work together to meet this moment.”
Johnston said that it is heartbreaking and frustrating to know the government has failed to act on the migrant crisis.
The bill, which Republicans rejected, would have tied border security funding in with funding for Ukraine and Israel.
We should be heartbroken and furious about our government’s failure to act on the migrant crisis. pic.twitter.com/OlGxGkWhL0
— Mayor Mike Johnston (@MikeJohnstonCO) February 8, 2024
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