The Denver City Council is doubling down on policies that offer free shelter and food to immigrants who cross the southern border illegally, which officials in West Texas say have been the primary draw to Colorado’s most populous city.

In an overview Tuesday of the city’s response to the crisis — the so-called “Newcomer Program” — councilmembers learned that the immigrants will receive, at taxpayers’ expense, six months of rental, food and utility assistance, a computer, prepaid cell phone and metro bus passes.

“We designed this program to be holistic,” said Sarah Plastino, who is in charge of the city’s response.

The approach represents a longer commitment to helping immigrants who arrive in Denver. Previously, officials had offered temporary housing for up to six weeks at various shelters across the city.

Officials have since closed several immigrant shelters and

publicly said the city slashed the shelter stay to 72 hours. (The city, however, paused “exits” at about the time of the policy change, Plastino said. That would explain why nearly 600 immigrants, and not fewer, are still being housed in shelters.)

About 760 immigrants — Plastino told councilmembers in attendance — are enrolled in the extended assistance program. Her office hopes to increase that number to 800 in the coming weeks, she said.

This first cohort is expected to “graduate” from the program in December or January, Plastino said.

It’s all part of a new strategy that pivots away from an emergency response to a long-term plan, a move that came on the heels of Mayor Mike Johnston trying to rein in spending and find the $90 million cost to pay for the immigrant response.

Over the past 17 months, Denver had received nearly 42,000 immigrants.

That is roughly the size of Brighton, which is located about 20 miles northeast of downtown Denver and is the county seat of neighboring Adams County.

Not all have stayed.

But plane, train and bus tickets purchased for immigrants to travel to their final U.S. destination suggest about half may have.

Their arrival has pushed the city’s finances to a breaking point. To finance its response, the city had cut some services, frozen hiring and decided against planting flowers to save money.

“We really need this to be a program that is thoughtful and sustainable,” said Anne-Marie Braga, executive director of Denver Human Services (DHS), which is managing the response.

Braga praised other city departments involved in the response, saying no one agency can do all the work.

“It’s complex,” she said. “If it wasn’t complex, it would have already been solved.”

‘Our shift in policy’

To date, Denver’s response has cost taxpayers about $70 million — and counting.

Early in the crisis, city leaders decided that Denver taxpayers would assume the cost to temporarily feed, shelter and transport immigrants to their final destination.

While Denver officials long speculated that the city’s proximity to the U.S. border, its transportation hub, which connects to major cities across the country, and status as a “sanctuary city” were the draw for immigrants, El Paso officials in west Texas point to something else: free shelter and tickets for onward travel.

Generally, a sanctuary city refers to policies that discourage local law enforcement from reporting an individual’s immigration status to federal authorities.

As previously reported by The Denver Gazette, Irene Gutiérrez, executive director of El Paso County Community Services in west Texas, has said shelters on the border adopted an unspoken rule not to pay for travel “because it creates a pull factor.”

Councilmembers and Johnston have denied that the policy made Denver an immigrant magnet.

On Tuesday, Plastino speculated the city’s policy limiting shelter stays may have contributed to the declining number of people who arrive in Denver. That is, by not offering a longer stay, fewer people are coming here.

“Our shift in policy has changed people’s decision making,” Plastino said.

Plastino said about half of the arriving immigrants are not opting to stay in a shelter — only about 11% do so, while they figure out their “moving on” plans.

Fewer immigrants have been coming to Denver in the last several weeks.

In the 30 days after implementing its new length-of-stay policy last month, Denver welcomed roughly 777 immigrants. Compare that to the same period last year, when Denver saw 2,801 immigrant arrivals over 30 days in April and May.

That’s a 72% decline.

Part of the reason for the decline lies in the fact Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is sending fewer buses. This month, Abbott has sent seven buses compared to more than 20 last month, Plastino said.

While officials have been quick to credit the city’s policy changes for the drop in new arrivals, several things can affect migration.

Consider the government’s actions during the pandemic.

This time last year, Title 42 — which ended with the federal emergency designation — was sunsetting. In the days leading up to the policy expiring, thousands of immigrants created a bottleneck at the southern border with Mexico.

Title 42 was a Trump-era policy that allowed the U.S. to expel immigrants at the southern border without permitting them to apply for asylum to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Historically, seasonal patterns have influenced immigration patterns in the U.S. For example, the milder weather in Spring is less dangerous than the extreme heat of summer or cold of winter. And agricultural cycles in the summer and fall can also affect people’s movement.

‘You just need to turn off the faucet’

Denver’s spending on the immigration crisis doesn’t include other costs, such as education and health care.

Neighboring communities have taken note.

Denver is surrounded by counties and cities that have deliberately avoided being tagged as a “sanctuary status.”

During a recent townhall hosted by Colorado Politics, Douglas County Commissioner Abe Laydon likened the crisis in Denver to a growing leak.

“I appreciate (Denver) spending $180 million to clean the wet floors in the bathroom, but you just need to turn off the faucet,” Laydon said. “Denver needs to reverse its policy of being a sanctuary city.”

In January — when Denver sheltered about 5,000 immigrants — Johnston warned that the costs could reach up to $180 million this year. He has since proposed roughly $40 million in cuts, primarily to public safety, to various departments.

Laydon contended Denver’s “sanctuary city” designation and the services the city offers have been the draw.

In sharp contrast, lawmakers in Aurora, Douglas County and Colorado Springs have all taken steps to distance themselves Denver’s “welcoming” policies.

Denver’s elected officials hope that their new policies will ease the city into a more manageable situation.

Some councilmembers also expressed annoyance with the mayor’s office for allegedly not giving them due recognition for their actions on the crisis.

While receiving an update during a committee meeting Tuesday, Council President Pro-Tem Amanda Sandoval gave Plastino, the city’s “Newcomer Program” director, a dressing down for not appropriately giving credit to her and Council President Jamie Torres for much of the work they’ve done behind the scenes.

“Nobody knows that Council President Torres and I have been on many of these meetings,” Sandoval said. “No one knows that Council President Torres and I have worked on any of these programs. No one knows City Council approved the lease with the Mullen Home.”

And — Sandoval said — no one knows that she advocated, long before the Johnston administration stepped into the picture, for the city to partner with the Archdiocese of Denver to open Mullen House for immigrants.

Johnston announced the partnership in December.

“Nobody knows that from this presentation,” Sandoval said.

‘A local resettlement model’

Although the state and federal government have reimbursed Denver about $14.5 million for its response to the crisis, city taxpayers have assumed the bulk of the cost.

For now, the mayor’s doomsday cost of $180 million estimate doesn’t appear to be shaking out.

Although no single action is likely the cause, the projection was made at the height of the last wave in January, when city officials were seeing hundreds arriving overnight and shelter 5,000 immigrants.

That hasn’t been the case for months. Johnston’s long-term plan budgeted for $90 million this year.

Jon Ewing, a DHS spokesperson, estimated the city has spent a little more than $20 million so far this year.

“The first quarter of the year will likely cost some more owing to the extreme number of people in shelter,” Ewing said.

The issue of illegal immigration and Denver’s response have catapulted the city — and specifically Johnston— into the national spotlight.

Meanwhile, a statewide poll last month showed illegal immigration emerging as the paramount issue for Colorado voters. Roughly two in three view the unprecedented influx as a major problem lawmakers should address.

Denver voters blamed the Biden administration, Denver’s immigrant policies and Abbott’s busing program, which has transported 115,000 immigrants — including more than 18,800 to Denver — out of the Lone Star State to so-called sanctuary cities in Democratic strongholds.

To keep the City Council apprised, officials will hold a workshop twice a month.

“What you’ve been asked to create is a local resettlement model, which at the statewide level was crafted over decades,” Torres said, wrapping up Tuesday’s meeting. “So, there’s a lot that you’re trying to do in a very short amount of time with no federal assistance.”

In related news on Tuesday, the Denver City Council approved a purchase and sale agreement with Denver Community Church to buy two of the organization’s properties worth $4 million. The pair of structures, located at 333 and 375 S. Zuni Street, can house up to 120 people, according to city documents.

Denver first started using the properties, one of which is a gymnasium, in late 2022, when then Mayor Michael Hancock made an emergency declaration in response to the surge of immigrants.