Denver Mayor Mike Johnston on Tuesday urged Denver residents, particularly those who are bilingual, to apply for jobs to help the city as it grapples to respond to the thousands of immigrants who have arrived in Colorado’s most populous city.

Denver officials did not share the city’s total budget for hiring 150 positions, which would be deployed to shelters currently accommodating roughly 2,700 immigrants.

But averaging $28.50 an hour for 35 hours a week — depending on whether they work parttime or full-time — means Denver would spend an extra $7.9 million if the workers are kept on

year-round. That translates to nearly $650,000 for a month, if the Johnston administration only requires their services through the holidays.

“Right now, the good news is we have facilities that are open. We are being able to welcome newcomers and get them into housing,” Johnston said at a news conference on the steps of the city and county building on Tuesday. “The most important crisis we have right now is staffing. We need the people of Denver to be able to step up and actually help us make sure the city remains welcoming through the holidays.”

Denver has spent roughly $33 million over the past year responding to the unfolding crisis that has seen nearly 30,000 immigrants who crossed the U.S. border with Mexico arriving in Denver. Many of the new arrivals are from South and Central America, particularly Venezuela.

The bulk of that money went to personnel and facilities. Officials have spent roughly $4.2 million — as of last month — to transport immigrants to at least 46 states and Washington D.C., data obtained by the city shows.

Denver currently employs around 200 people at immigrant shelters, but it needs 150 more “to make it through the balance of the month,” Johnston said, adding the city, in particular, is looking for individuals who are Spanish speakers.

The city has scheduled a hiring event this Friday on the fourth floor of the Wellington Webb municipal office building at 201 W. Colfax Ave.

The city will require an I-9 employment eligibility hard copy form, according to Director of Human Services Raja Raghunath.

“Interested candidates are encouraged to pre-register by submitting an application and then indicating which session they would like to be a part of,” she said, directing people to the city’s website to pre-register.

The city is offering on-site interviews for positions that need to be filled immediately.

The wages are set between $25 and $32 an hour, said Johnston, who also emphasized overnight shifts.

“What we find so challenging about this is there’s no way to predict what the flow is,” Johnston told The Denver Gazette, referring to bus arrivals. “We think we need to be prepared for the fact that the numbers could continue to steadily increase over the next couple of weeks.”

The influx demonstrates the unfolding border crisis that has now spilled over into America’s interior cities — such as Denver — which is more than 600 miles from El Paso, Texas, the closest U.S. border.

Early in the crisis, Denver officials determined the city would pay to transport immigrants to the city of their choice.

If an immigrant’s desired final destination is elsewhere, city officials have provided at taxpayers’ expense free transportation via bus, train or plane as many immigrants have support systems in other cities.

State and city officials have estimated 70% of Denver’s new arrivals have stopped here on their way to somewhere else. Immigrants’ top three choices are Chicago, New York and Salt Lake City, data obtained in a Colorado Open Records request show.

The new city program comes as the city marks a year since nearly 100 immigrants were dropped off at the Union Station downtown last December.

Officials have scrambled to respond to the growing crisis. Denver has experienced waves of arriving immigrants, particularly since Texas began sending immigrants to the Mile High City.

On Monday, a busload of immigrants from Texas were dropped off at the capitol.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott — according to his office — has bused more than 7,800 immigrants to Denver since May. That’s more than Abbott has sent to Los Angeles and Philadelphia combined.

For its part, Denver has sent at least 450 immigrants back to Texas, the majority to Dallas.

Abbott nabbed international headlines last spring when he began sending immigrants to states led by Democratic governors, including Colorado.

Officials speculated immigrants are drawn to Denver because of its relative proximity to the Mexico border in El Paso, Texas while others have said it might be because the city is considered a “sanctuary city,” which — broadly speaking — refers to local policies prohibiting cooperation with the federal immigration office.

The mayors of New York City and Chicago have criticized Gov. Jared Polis for shuffling immigrants around, an accusation that has also been leveled against Republican governors like Abbott.

Whether staying or leaving, the cost to temporarily house, feed and transport these new arrivals has largely fallen on Denver taxpayers, who have assumed roughly $6 out of every $10 spent on housing and feeding these new arrivals.

Roughly $13.4 million of the response has been — or is expected to be —reimbursed by the state and federal government.

Last month, Johnston and a coalition of democratic mayors met with Homeland Security officials and lawmakers to discuss the crisis.

President Joe Biden requested from Congress $1.4 billion to help state and local governments provide shelter and services to immigrants, far short of the $5 billion Johnston and other mayors sought.