Democratic Denver Mayor Mike Johnston stated Sunday that illegal immigration is putting a “huge strain” on the city, joining the likes of other mayors who have spoken on the growing problem of illegal immigration in the country.
Johnston explained that the lack of work authorization that immigrants receive in Denver has been a major contributing factor to the city’s problem. The mayor was also asked about comments he has made in the past, which include that caring for illegal immigrants could impact between 10 to 15% of the city’s budget in 2024.
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“It is unsustainable,” Johnston said on Fox News Sunday. “In the current structure, when we have 30 or 40,000 people arriving without work authorization, without federal support, it is going to be a huge strain on cities.”
Though Johnston lamented about the situation, he did argue that it was a problem that could be fixed. One solution he suggested would be to have resources at the southern border to allow legal decisions on immigrants to be made at a faster pace.
“We have folks that arrive in Denver, and their court dates are 2029,” Johnston said. “That’s five years out because the courts are so backlogged.”
Denver is one of many cities in the United States that have received busloads of illegal immigrants from Texas, with other cities including Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C. A report from last month estimated that an average of 5,000 illegal immigrants are being released into the U.S. daily.
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On Thursday, New York City sued 17 Texas busing companies over its transportation of illegal immigrants from Texas to the Big Apple. The lawsuit argues that $700 million would cover the city’s costs for caring for the roughly 33,600 foreign nationals
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX), meanwhile, has argued that New York City Mayor Eric Adams ought to be suing President Joe Biden and how the president and his policies have allowed for “the massive multimillion influx” of illegals into the U.S.
