Number of migrants in Denver shelters dips below 1,000

The number of migrants staying in Denver shelters fell below 1,000 for the first time in six months this week, leading city officials to consolidate hotel shelters amid a holiday season.

Sarah Plastino, Denver’s newly appointed program manager, called the drop in numbers a “turning point for the city” during a slowdown in seasonal migration patterns, which can peak in the spring. As of Thursday afternoon, 941 migrants were living in city shelters, according to city data.

“Two months ago, that looked really different – we were at our peak and we were in the throes of an emergency response,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “And right now, we’re transitioning our long-term response to the programmatic model. We’re trying to be intentional. We’re trying to be proactive and put systems in place to make sure we’re not caught off guard if we get a lot of people back in.”

Of the 10 city shelters, three have closed and a fourth is expected to close this month, according to Jon Ewing, spokesman for the city’s Department of Human Services. The remaining shelters include the Mullen Home for families with children, three hotel sites and two congregate sites, one of which is on standby. The city began releasing thousands of migrants from shelters last month as they reached restored shelter limits, but the number of arrivals has also dropped.

The number of migrants arriving in Denver last week was 245 compared to upwards of 1,000 people a week during surges. And the number of people staying in Denver’s migrant shelters reached 4,701 as of Jan. 11, Ewing said.

Plastino said long-term response efforts include increasing case management and working with partners, but he would not elaborate on the specifics of the plans or whether Denver plans to continue its efforts to hire additional contractor to run shelter operations and services. That information is expected in the coming weeks, he added, and the goal is to make spending more sustainable.

The mayor’s office asked city departments earlier this year to cut 10% to 15% of their budgets to meet a $180 million deficit to offset the costs of responding to migrants, who later he cut back to about $120 million after the number of new arrivals slowed.

Despite the drop in numbers, the city has not revised those projections. Plastino said city staff is in the process of finalizing a budget request that will go to the City Council for approval in April. As of Monday, the city has spent about $61 million on migrant sheltering and services since the first bus arrived in December 2022.

As of Thursday, the city provided shelter and services to 39,740 people. The highest cost percentage is for shelter space at 36%, followed by personnel costs at 33%, Ewing said.

In recent weeks, the city has focused most of its efforts on worker authorization clinics to help asylum seekers apply for work permits — an often lengthy and complicated process while migrants are awaiting judgment in their cases. The city has helped 1,400 people receive work permits.

But even the migrants got a work authorization, only 28% of Venezuelan asylum cases were approved in fiscal year 2023, leading to long-term challenges for immigrants who want to work in their new country — and the city that wants to help them stay.

It’s a crisis that will unfold over decades and requires federal action, Plastino said. Denver leaders are calling for comprehensive immigration reform and an extension of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans, giving them protections and faster work authorization while they await final immigration decisions.