As border crossings slow, Denver prepares to discharge migrant families from shelters

On Monday, Feb. 4, the City of Denver will begin to move families with children from shelters after a pause that was enacted in November.

Denver announced the change two weeks ago as it also said it would extend the previous time limit families can remain in shelters from 37 to 42 days.

Meantime, city officials have been watching border crossings slow in El Paso, Texas, 9 hours south by bus, and the city where most of Denver's newcomers have come from.  

"Arrivals have slowed over the last couple of weeks as fewer people are processed in border towns like El Paso," said Jon Ewing, spokesperson for Denver Human Services. "We do not expect this slowdown to last but are taking advantage of the timing as we focus on moving our 4,000 guests out of the shelter and onto better solutions. We will begin discharging families again on Monday and continue to do so in a rolling fashion through late March."

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Meantime, Denver Public Schools reported last week that its schools saw student enrollment jump by more than 600 newcomer students in the first month of this year, with the week of Jan 8-12 seeing the highest number of new arrivals enrolling since August.

"We are starting to see enrollment shifts between schools as families are relocated to different shelters, and new hot spots are emerging at and around Eagleton Elementary. In the past week, several hundred students have registered for school in the Far Northeast," said a report by the superintendent to the school board.

Meantime DPS is trying to address the unfunded needs of students who arrived after the October count which determines school budgets for the academic year.  DPS has enrolled nearly 2900 new-to-country students since August.

While DPS is asking the state for additional funds, Jeremy Meyer, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Education said, "CDE does not have the authority to adjust School Finance funding outside of the Student October Count process. Any funding adjustments through School Finance would need to be made by the General Assembly. CDE is evaluating if there are any funding streams available internally that could be used to support districts experiencing an influx of newcomer students.  Also, we are working closely with districts that have had an influx of newcomers. We have developed a newcomer cohort in which districts can exchange ideas and follow best practices."

Meantime the city is focused on getting migrant families on their feet.

"Over the next several weeks we will also roll out more legal and work permit clinics, as well as continue our efforts of connecting guests with housing resources," added Ewing.