In early November — long before the crisis at the border in El Paso, Texas spilled over into Denver — a bus of immigrants rolled into the Mile High City.
Andrea Loya, executive director of Casa de Paz, had been communicating with a volunteer organization in El Paso since August to see if the Denver nonprofit could help alleviate the strain churches and nonprofit groups were laboring under in Texas.
“I think that the busses were going to come. It was just a matter of time,” Loya said.
Casa de Paz, which works to reunite families separated by detention, partnered with Denver Community Church and other immigrant support groups to help shelter about 50 immigrants in November.
As of noon Wednesday, Denver has served nearly 1,500 immigrants since Dec. 9. Scores have arrived by bus each day — 110 of them got here overnight, the city said on Dec. 21.
The recent inpouring of immigrants fleeing Central and South America — particularly Venezuela — is emblematic of the U.S. border crisis with Mexico. The humanitarian crisis has spilled over into other cities, including Denver, which is more than 600 miles from the Mexican border in El Paso, Texas.
Indeed, cities feel the inescapable brunt of the crisis.
In metro Denver, government authorities, along with nonprofits, have sprung into action to help the immigrants, setting up emergency shelters. That work became even more acute and pressing as a cold spell engulfed metro Denver just before the Christmas weekend, plunging cities into sub-zero temperatures.
Loya of Casa de Paz said Denver is not the immigrants' final destination but a stopover on their way to Florida or the East Coast, particularly New Jersey.
Given that Denver is more than 600 miles from the closest international border in El Paso, it begs the question: Why are immigrants coming here?
While city officials point to El Paso’s relative proximity to Denver, organizations that support the immigrant community highlight the resources and diversity in the community, as well as its status as a "sanctuary city."
A "sanctuary city" does not carry a precise legal definition, but the designation often refers to communities that, through proclamations or concrete action, open their arms to immigrants who illegally cross or outstay their visa and limit cooperation with the federal government in enforcing immigration laws. These decisions could include, for example, expressly prohibiting city workers from asking about people's immigration status and rebuffing requests by federal authorities to detain people beyond what the laws stipulate.
In contrast, some states, such as Arizona, have adopted a tough-on-enforcement approach to illegal immigration by mandating law enforcement, for example, to ask for people's legal status during routine stops.
“Some of it is word of mouth,” Loya said of how the immigrants choose Denver.
Cynthia Gonzalez — an advocacy coordinator for the St. Columban Mission for Justice, Peace and Ecology in El Paso — agreed.
“All of this is moved by the migrants themselves,” said Gonzalez, noting the majority with whom she has spoken are fleeing violence. “They’re kind of navigating the journey on their own.”
Gonzalez added: “Migrants kind of figured out, if you can get to Denver, you can get to other places.”
Many of the immigrants crossing into El Paso are on their way to somewhere else, Gonzalez added.
Immigrants have always favored the southern border with Mexico. But the number and ports of entry — whether California, Arizona or Texas — has fluctuated for decades. Fiscal year 2022 saw more than 2.3 million apprehensions at the southwest border, up from 458,000 in 2020, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.
The easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions and confusion over “Title 42” — the controversial Trump-era policy that expelled immigrants at the Mexico border during the pandemic — preceded the crush of immigrants into El Paso.
"Right now, we don’t have any space,” Gonzalez said. “We have a lot of folks on the street.”
‘Migration is always happening’
The $2 million response to the roughly 1,500 immigrants who have traveled to the city since the beginning of December has pushed Denver to its breaking point, Mayor Michael B. Hancock has said.
“Our finances are at the brink," Hancock said, "and as mayor and as members of City Council, as agency leaders, we’ve got to be honest and say we can’t do any more. We have come to that point.”
The mayor blamed the unfolding crisis in his city on the nation’s broken immigration system, saying cities are taking “the brunt” of the federal government's failures.
Before the recent influx, the issue of illegal immigration hadn't gripped Colorado's political discourse as much as it consumed the discussion in border states, notably Arizona and Texas. But the ideological split over how to address this crisis is palpable, with Democrats, broadly speaking, preferring a solution that includes offering immigrants lawful status and Republicans advocating for greater border security.
Proposals and statements often highlight the parties' dueling emphasis.
Some noted the challenge is far from new — and not going away anytime soon.
“Migration is always happening, it’s just not always part of the news cycle,” said Bianey Bermudez, a spokesperson for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition.
Formed in 2002, the coalition is a statewide coalition organized to improve the lives of immigrants and refugees by making Colorado a more “immigrant-friendly state.”
Bermudez, whose family immigrated from Chihuahua, Mexico, said the region has a lot to offer to the new arrivals, but none more important than the support of the community.
“It’s not an easy thing to migrate to a new place, so, it’s important for us to be a welcoming community,” Bermudez said. “Nobody leaves home without having to.”
Given the major east–west interstate corridor that connects Denver to Baltimore, the immigrant draw should not come as a revelation.
“Denver is a major crossroads in the interior of the United States and, in that regard, not really a surprise,” said Evan Dreyer, Hancock’s deputy chief of staff.
The “push-pull” of immigration has long influenced why migrants leave their country and settle elsewhere. "Push" factors often involve war, poverty and political instability, while the "pull" frequently includes religious freedom, employment and a higher standard of living, among others.
Immigrants who lack authorization to stay in America only represent about 3.4% of the Colorado's population, according to the Pew Research Center, which is based in Washington D.C.
The majority of U.S. immigrants, though, reside in the country legally.
In 2017, an estimated 10.5 million unauthorized immigrants were living in the U.S. and about 130,000 in Colorado, according to Pew, which conducts studies on this largely hidden population.
“We have been in crisis for several months,” said Gonzalez of the St. Columban Mission in El Paso.
“It’s come to the point that our border communities can’t do it and need other cities to step in.”
