Denver mayor joins mayors from 4 other cities seeking support for "migrant crisis"

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston is leading a coalition of mayors from four other cities to urge the Biden Administration to offer more support to cities taking in migrant refugees from the Southern border. Those cities include Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. 

The coalition sent a letter to President Joe Biden and congressional leadership urging them to provide more financial support, increase work authorization for migrants, and prioritize a coordinated entry response to ensure new arrivals make it to their final destination. 

Johnston, along with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, will meet with White House, congressional, and administration leadership in Washington, DC. 

In the letter, they state that although they appreciate Biden's efforts so far, much more needs to be done to ease the burden on their cities. 

In Denver, the number of migrants has increased tenfold and available space to shelter them has withered. 

"The crisis is we have folks here who desperately want to work. And we have employers here who desperately want to hire them. And we have a federal government that's standing in the way of employers who want to hire employees who want to work," Johnston said in a statement. 

Biden has requested $1.4 billion from Congress to help state and local governments provide shelter and services for migrants. Johnston and the other mayors state in the letter that more is needed and they are asking for $5 billion. They also want an accelerated work authorization approval process so migrants can find work.