DENVER — Denver has set up an emergency shelter to accommodate as many as 100 immigrants from the U.S.’s southern border after the group arrived in the city by bus overnight Monday into Tuesday, according to the Denver Office of Emergency Management.
Staff with the Denver Rescue Mission say that the roughly 100 people the city is housing is only a portion of the influx of immigrants, mostly from Venezuela, who arrived at the doors of the organization’s downtown shelter over a 48-hour period dating back to Monday night.
“Last night we housed approximately 50 people at our Lawrence Street downtown shelter,” Denver Rescue Mission spokesman Stephen Hinkel said of the facility located at the corner of Lawrence Street and Park Avenue West. “And then we transported 100 to the rec center.”
Despite earlier reports from city officials that the immigrants were bused directly to the shelter, Hinkel said that it appears the people likely arrived at Union Station and then walked to the Rescue Mission several blocks away. Union Station is where the city’s main public bus terminal is located. Greyhound Lines also runs its bus routes out of the station.
“That is definitely where the buses were dropped off,” Hinkel said. “What we are assuming, based on our conversations with the immigrants, is they got off the buses and were looking for services and were directed to the Denver Rescue Mission’s front doors.”
The Denver Office of Emergency Management announced the activation of a city rec center as an emergency shelter on Twitter just after 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. The city is not releasing the location of the emergency shelter due to security concerns and the sensitivity of the developing situation, according to a news release.
A steady stream of immigrants has been coming into Denver for the last two to three months but at a rate that the city’s shelter system could accommodate, Mikayla Ortega, a spokeswoman for the emergency management office said Wednesday. So many people arriving at once pushed the Rescue Mission beyond its limits requiring the city’s immediate help.
“They reached out to us and sent up the flag. They said we need your help. That was yesterday morning,” Ortega said Wednesday. “That was when we activated the emergency shelter to accommodate the overload.”
The emergency management office shared a photo on Twitter of rows of cots set up in a gymnasium and stacks of bottled water for the people needing shelter. The immigrants arrived at that makeshift shelter around 8 p.m. Tuesday, Ortega said.
Through conversations with the immigrants, the city and Denver Rescue Mission staff has learned that most are from Venezuela. A majority are between the ages of 20 and 40 but there are at least one or two children in the group, according to Ortega.
“They all speak Spanish and they all have told us they are migrants,” Ortega said.
There is still much the city doesn’t know including where the immigrants came from before arriving in Denver.
“We are continuing to talk to them but their stories are not matching up on how they got here,” Ortega said. “I have to note there is a distrust in government. They are afraid.”
There is no timeline for how long the emergency shelter might operate while the city and its partner work to support the migrants. The Denver Rescue Mission is expecting to continue housing the 50 people who stayed at its downtown shelter on Tuesday night on Wednesday night.
“As far as what the plan is for the days and weeks ahead, that’s mostly a very fluid situation,” Hinkel said. “What we’re going to do at the Denver Rescue mission is continue to care for the immigrants as we have been there.”
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock called the people the city is sheltering refugees and asylum seekers in a statement Wednesday. He credited city staff and a network of service providers and partners for moving quickly to meet the group’s immediate needs.
“Our priority is the health and safety of all our residents, including those who are migrants, and we will do what we can to provide for their needs at this time, including uniting them with friends, family, jobs and transportation to other destinations,” Hancock said.
Denver is a sanctuary city for immigrants. In 2018, Hancock signed legislation that strengthened those protections. City laws and policies include barring city employees from asking about or sharing a person’s legal immigration status and barring federal immigration agents from talking to inmates in secure areas of city jails unless they have warrants.
Denver is working with about a half-dozen nonprofit organizations to support the immigrants and their needs. The emergency shelter will be set up as long as is necessary to stabilize them, Ortega said.
Monetary donations to support the new arrivals can be made to Denver Community Church, Lutheran Family Services and the American Friends Service Committee, according to a 10 a.m. city update.
People interested in volunteering at the emergency shelter must be credentialed and registered volunteers in the state. The city is directing people to covolunteers.state.co.us for more information on that process.
The city cannot accept donations of food, water and other materials at this time because it does not have the capacity to process those donations, Ortega said.
The arrival of the immigrants prompted state and local leaders to respond. Denver City Councilwoman Robin Kniech wrote on Twitter Tuesday night that she was “incredibly proud of city staff & interpreters who mobilized at a moment’s notice tonight, dedicated & compassionate, representing for Denver.”
Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper, Denver’s former mayor, issued a statement Wednesday morning implying the arrival of the immigrants was political theater similar to when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis used state money to fly immigrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts earlier this year.
“Human lives are not political props. Denver will welcome these migrants with open arms and help any way they can. We will be empathetic to people put in a difficult situation,” Hickenlooper said in his statement. “Instead of playing partisan games, let’s tackle our broken immigration system once and for all.”
Spokespeople for Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis did not immediately return inquires from The Denver Post inquiries Wednesday. Arizona has previously bused migrants from that state to Washington, D.C.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office confirmed to the Denver Post that his administration is still only busing migrants to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Chicago and New York City.
Gov. Jared Polis did not tie the migrants’ arrival to any concerted busing effort.
“The governor continues to call on Congress to pass real, comprehensive immigration that includes better border security and workable pathways for legal immigration and refugee resettlement — it’s the humane thing to do and it will greatly benefit our economy and our communities,” a Polis representative said. “The governor has long supported fixing our broken immigration system that is failing everyone right now.”
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