Denver reassures migrant families will not be discharged from shelters by Jan. 1 after some express concerns
Over the past few weeks, migrant families at a couple of Denver shelters have expressed they've been asked by staff members to leave the shelter by the end of the month or Jan. 1. However, the city of Denver says that's not exactly true.
This morning, 114 more migrants arrived in Denver and by the end of the day, that number increased to 285.
Right now, over 4,000 migrants are being housed in city shelters. Leaders are expecting more to come in the next few weeks, which will further strain these shelters that are nearly at capacity.
These latest developments come as U.S. officials are in Mexico asking the country and their counterparts to help them drive down border crossings.
Historically, the U.S. has relied on Mexico to stem the flow of migrants from the southern border. However, Mexico, like Colorado and the U.S. as a whole are facing similar difficulties with limited resources.
According to Jon Ewing, a spokesperson for the Denver Department of Human Services, migrant families are not being asked to leave the shelter just yet.
The nonprofit ViVe Wellness, which is working with the city during this time to help house migrants and provide resources, cleared that confusion Wednesday morning.
For people like Joana and her family have been living at a city shelter for more than a month. They have been able to stay thanks to the city putting a pause on discharging families from city shelters due to the winter and at the time, the short amount of migrant arrivals.
However, that was short-lived and now more have been arriving in the past month. Before this policy was on pause, migrants with children were only allowed to stay for 37 days.
"The immediate goal was to get them off the streets, get them in a shelter and the secondary goal was to connect them with nonprofit organizations," said Ewing.
Some migrants at a shelter near Green Valley Ranch say they were told by staff members they would have to leave the shelter either by the end of the month or the first, creating confusion among each other.
"We're not resuming family discharges by Dec. 30, we are not, that day has not been determined at this time," reassured Ewing.
Images and video obtained by CBS News Colorado show Yoli Casas, with ViVe Wellness clarifying that confusion.
The nonprofit apologized and told families there is no date confirmed yet on when they will be asked to vacate their space at the shelter.
Joana and her family feel at peace now knowing they won't have to leave just yet.
The city confirms that this can change within the next few weeks due to the lack of resources.
"We do not have the resources to shelter people indefinitely, we don't have the space, we don't have the staff," said Ewing.
Families at shelters have also received a flyer that lets them know they will have to leave the shelter soon, but a date has not yet been determined.
Ewing says just this month more than 100 buses arrived in the city. Each day they are getting at least 200 people with no signs of it slowing down.
There is a possibility of another shelter opening soon but right now, the city is utilizing seven shelters.
As of Tuesday, Denver has supported 34,300 migrants from the southern border at a cost of more than $36 million.
The city has received funding to support migrant sheltering operations, including a reimbursement award of $3.5 million from the state.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has advanced $1.6 million and approved Denver for reimbursement of up to another $9 million in federal assistance.
