Kansas City, Missouri, invites work-authorized migrants in Denver to seek jobs there
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DENVER (KDVR) — Migrants in Denver with work authorizations are getting a big welcome from the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri.
That city’s mayor, Quinton Lucas, says migrants are needed due to a worker shortage there. Currently, there are thousands of migrants in limbo in Denver trying to figure out whether they will stay or go.
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Some say an invite like the one Kansas City is offering is worth considering. The images of busloads of migrants arriving in Denver made headlines across the country.
They are now welcome in Kansas City.
“I think Kansas City will be a leader in making sure that we have that decompression, that housing, those services that are necessary to help people get populated in our country,” Lucas said.
Lucas shared an article on social platform X from Bloomberg, saying he’s working with the mayors of Denver and New York City and is open to getting migrants to Kansas City to work.
“Mayor (Mike) Johnston has been in communication with Mayor Lucas to help newcomers reach cities where they have existing networks or greater opportunities,” Johnston’s press secretary, Jordan Fuja, said.
The mayor’s full statement can be seen at the end of this article. One migrant in Denver, Juan Carlos Pioltelli, said he believes the invite could encourage some to move east.
“I think who wants work and get the progress in her life or his life, they will go, but who already have here and who already has adapted to this place, they will stay,” Pioltelli said.
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Missouri construction unions say labor help is needed now.
“We just are not getting the volume of people that we need,” Heavy Construction Laborers’ Local 663 President Jason Mendenhall said.
Migrant advocates say the invite can be a good thing.
“We know the number one ask that migrants have had is just the ability to work. It’s the kind of response we are hoping to see in more places as well,” said Housekeys Action Network Denver organizer V Reeves.
Missouri’s lieutenant governor called the invitation “insane,” saying Kansas City would become a “sanctuary city.”
Here is the full statement from the Denver mayor’s office:
“Mayor Johnston has been in communication with Mayor Lucas and other mayors across the country to help newcomers reach cities where they have existing networks or greater opportunities. Denver is leading the way in helping newcomers gain access to the critical work authorization they need to be successful, including by hosting dozens of work authorization clinics that helped more than 1,600 newcomers apply for federal work authorization. We look forward to continuing to coordinate by sharing our programs and playbooks so other cities can build their own programs and welcome newcomers into their communities.”
Jordan Fuja, press secretary for Denver Mayor Mike Johnston
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