DENVER — Denver Mayor Mike Johnston was in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to continue urging federal lawmakers to pass legislation to manage the migrant crisis and support American cities, in addition to attending the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Johnston has led a coalition of mayors from major American cities to press the federal government to take swift action to support cities managing an unprecedented influx of migrants.
As federal lawmakers continue to work toward a border deal, Denver officials said Johnston was meeting with White House and administration officials, members of Congress and fellow mayors to pursue solutions that will help manage this crisis, including increased work authorization, a coordinated entry program and more federal dollars for cities.
Johnston said when it comes to the employment situation, he hears both sides of the conversation almost every day: immigrants who want to work and employers who are looking to fill jobs but can't because "a federal government who stood in the way of our ability to letting those people go to work to the people that want to hire them."
He said he, along with other mayors, thinks the current system is one that least helps migrants and cities succeed.
“We know there’s demand. I talked to mayors around the cities, around the country, who have huge labor shortages and want workers," Johnston said. “Declining enrollment, cities who want to add population and people that can work. We think this shows the natural need of our growing economy to have a base of immigrants who come and help build this country. We just think the challenge is the federal system doesn’t allow them to do what they would like to do.”
Johnston said the influx of newcomers could have a positive impact on the economy if they are allowed to work.
"It’s underscored, the power of the positive impact it can have," he said. "There’s a recent study in Denver that shows new arrivals could have a $1.8 billion net positive impact on our economy if they are allowed to work.
"So we think the net positive dramatically outweighs the net negative," Johnston said. "But the problem is, the current system requires the government, city or state or federal, to bare the public cost of supporting people who want to work but can’t. That means it drives the cost without benefit."
Johnston was joined by U.S. Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper and U.S. Reps. Jason Crow and Brittany Pettersen at a news conference following a meeting where they agreed there is a broken immigration system and Congress needs to act to fix it.
"Denver is not seeking to make this somebody else's problem, somebody else's issue," Bennet said. "Denver, the citizen's of Denver, are stepping up to our responsibility, as citizens of this great country, but they are not in charge of the immigration policy of the United States. Nor, should I say, Denver Public Schools.
"One of the interesting things about this combination of people is you have a current mayor, a former mayor and a former superintendent of Denver Public Schools, who now has thousands of additional students," Bennet said. "This as a result of a broken immigration system that we have and is having to come out of pocket in order to deal with that."
Bennett said immigration is the responsibility of the federal government.
On Wednesday, Denver announced that they will again be discharging migrant families with children from city-run facilities. The city said they will provide all newly arrived families with children with up to 42 days of accommodation, up from the previous limit of 37 days.
The length of stay for people without children will continue to be 14 days. The new policy goes into effect on Feb. 5.
The changes will be rolled out over the next several weeks and come as Denver experiences a significant surge in arrivals from the southern border, as well as pressing budgetary concerns.
Denver paused the discharge of migrant families on Nov. 17 and also welcomed families who had previously timed out to return to shelters. Over the past two months, Denver has seen a dramatic increase in arrivals and is currently sheltering 4,500 people, the city said.
This influx, the fourth significant surge in arrivals since late 2022, is straining capacity, and based on current projections, could force the city to cut as much as $180 million from its annual budget. The city said that while they recognize families need as much time as they can give them, the city must once again limit the amount of time families can remain in shelter.
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