DENVER — Many migrants in Venezuela don't have any other option than to be on the street after their time in Denver's shelter system is up.
Families are able to stay in Denver's shelters for 37 days, and adults without children are allowed to stay 14 days in shelters. The city is currently sheltering around 2,000 migrants and say the shelter system is "strained" as a result.
The struggle to find work has only become more difficult for newly arriving migrants. Many don't qualify for work permits or have to wait a significant amount of time before receiving them. As a result, many are without any kind of steady work once their time in the shelter is up.
A homeless encampment filled with migrants has been established off of Zuni Street in Denver.
The Denver Police Department's Homeless Outreach team has worked to take families with children off the streets and provide a temporary place for them to stay.
"The truth is we feel badly because look, we are sleeping on the street. We don't have any way to sleep safely in the cold. The kids sleep on the street. They are cold and that's it," said Jeremi, who has been at the encampment for the past 15 days.
Jeremi knows his situation is only for a moment. Little by little, he hopes to create a more established life in Denver, his final destination.
"The plan is to find someplace to rest, a house so that we aren't on the street, a job, something like that," he said.
As the encampment has grown, homeless advocates learned the city plans to sweep the area as soon as Wednesday.
"People are going to be told to move and they have no clue where to go. They don’t know the city. They’ve only spent the last two weeks learning this block, let alone the entire city. They have no clue where to go," said Amy Beck, a homeless advocate who has been visiting the camp to offer resources and necessities.
Beck has worked with the homeless community in Denver for the past four years. Recently, she has readjusted her efforts to focus on the migrant community that has begun to call the streets of Denver home.
"We cannot continue to treat people this way and this is just the beginning," Beck said. "This is going to go on all winter long, and what we are doing today is unacceptable."
The current encampment is on land owned by Denver's Parks and Recreation. Because it's not public land, Denver Parks and Rec does not have to follow the same guidelines to sweep. If it were on public jurisdiction, the city would be required to provide seven days' notice.
Mayor Mike Johnston has made a commitment to end chronic homelessness in the city. As part of his initiative, he promised Denver would not carry out sweeps without offering a housing alternative to those who would be forced to move.
In the past, Johnston has said that he saw the homeless community and the migrant community as two different populations. It's unclear whether or not the sweeps protocols will also apply to migrants. 9NEWS reached out to Johnston's team and did not receive a response about if they have a long-term plan to address unhoused migrants and if sweeps like this will be allowed under his administration.
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