Pro-migrant rally held outside Denver’s last dedicated migrant shelter

DENVER (KDVR) — Only two days before an announced encampment sweep, advocates and migrants gathered on a sidewalk across from the city’s last migrant shelter for singles or couples.

The goal was to have Denver Mayor Mike Johnston hear their demands to provide safe shelter spaces and continue sheltering migrants separately from the other homeless populations. According to advocacy group Housekeys Action Network Denver, shelters for unhoused people in Denver are already severely overwhelmed, and adding migrants to the mix would be disastrous.

Douglas County leaders sue Colorado in new immigration action

Currently, Denver only has one migrant shelter, located on S. Zuni St. It also has one “congregate site” for migrants who are homeless. Bridge housing is provided through a partnership with the Archdiocese of Denver and Catholic Charities for a limited number of families with children.

As of Monday, April 15, Denver was sheltering 838 migrants. After weeks of thousands of migrants arriving via bus or other transportation to the city, Denver’s “newcomer” rate has dropped to a few dozen arrivals daily.

During the rally on Sunday, migrants asked for the city to continue sheltering them separately from the city’s other homeless sheltering measures, and to provide a safe space such as a warehouse or safe camping zone where migrants “can exist safely as they receive immigration and employment support,” according to the rally’s flyer.

Willie Bastidas, a migrant, told FOX31 through a translator that the migrants want to work, but obtaining a work permit is harder than it may seem.

“We do all want to work, the people who are coming here want to work,” Bastidas said through the translator. “They’re trying their best to get jobs. They’re having some difficulty, because of the lack of work permits, but the people who can’t work that way are out here washing windows, and we’re people who want to work.”

How you can help migrants in Denver

Camp to be swept Tuesday with no shelter offered

On Tuesday, the city plans to begin a sweep of an about three-block area near 8th and Navajo, or 6th Avenue and Kalamanth. Advocates say there is nowhere for the houseless population living there to go — and estimate about 150 people will be disrupted by the sweep. Many of the people there, according to the Housekeys Action Network Denver, congregated there after they were removed from other encampments.

In a statement, the Denver Mayor’s Office said that, “We have made the difficult decision to post the camp for cleanup. This is the first time the administration will post an encampment closure without housing resolution in six months … and something we plan to avoid in the future.”

The city said the encampment must be cleared because of the severe impact on public health. The city also said some people are refusing shelter and help. Previous camp sweeps where houseless individuals have refused shelter cited poor shelter conditions.

However, neighbors of the camp are worried the sweep will just move the camp over a few blocks.

At the same time, eviction rates across Colorado and in Denver have continued to rise.

Advocates ‘cautiously optimistic’ about Denver’s new migrant, asylum program

On April 10, Johnston announced a new “sustainable” response to the migrant crisis. Part of that announcement stated that “individuals arriving in Denver after April 10 will be provided a short-term stay at a congregate site along with assistance securing onward travel to another destination.”

On Monday, the Douglas County Board of Commissioners joined with El Paso County to sue the state, arguing laws are preventing local law enforcement from working with immigration officials. The two counties have also implemented measures to prevent migrants from being bused into the areas.

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