Denver pleads with landlords to rent their properties to migrants after closing shelters costing $60million

• The city launched a program on Tuesday aimed at getting information from landlords on properties that rent for $2,000 per month or less
• The number of migrants staying in shelters has dropped in the last weeks, after it reached a peak of 5,200 in mid-January 

Denver officials have asked landlords to rent to migrants who will need housing after the city shuts down several temporary hotel shelters as the number of new arrivals drops.

The city launched a program on Tuesday aimed at getting information from landlords on properties that rent for $2,000 per month or less, with officials emailing rental property owners asking if they would be interested in renting to migrants.

Democratic mayor Mike Johnston said last month the city would be closing four new migrant shelters, which would save up to $60 million from the $180million predicted cost of the crisis.

Johnston’s decision comes as the number of migrants staying in shelters has dropped in the last weeks, after it reached a peak of 5,200 in mid-January, as reported by Denverite. The city is currently sheltering less than 2,000 people.

‘We put out a feeler to all the landlords we have connections with,’ city Human Services spokesman Jon Ewing told Fox 31. ‘Basically said, listen, we’re going to have some newcomers who are going to need housing.’ 

Ewing added that the city has been able to get 1.3000 migrants work permits over the last weeks so they can earn money and pay for rent. 

Last month Johnston announced he would slash $5 million from its Parks and Rec and DMV budgets as it faces a staggering $180 million bill to shelter migrants in 2024.

Denver received over 38,000 new migrants in just one year – mostly from Venezuela –  with the city providing shelter for as many as 38,861 asylum seekers at a cost of $58 million so far.

The sanctuary city, which already has 700,000 residents, has been struggling to stretch its limited housing. Denver, like other cities such as New York, are facing the brunt of the nationwide crisis of the flow of people at the southern border.

Part of the influx came from Texas – where Governor Abbott has been transferring an overwhelming number of asylum seekers to Democrat states and cities to lessen the Lone Star State’s burden. 

As a result of the rampant overcrowding, the streets of Denver are now flooded with tents. One business said there are 200 on their street – meaning that patrons weren’t even able to walk inside the door.

Mayor Johnston told America’s Newsroom: spoke about what he believes would provide a potential solution, saying: ‘When folks arrive in our city, we want them [to have] the ability to work.

‘If they have work authorization when they arrive, they can get to work and support themselves immediately, [they] don’t need federal or state support.’

Denver is a city that migrants are routinely shuttled to after entering the US as the crisis at the border continues, with December shattering the record for CBP migrant encounters at over 302,000.

Arrests for illegal crossings on the U.S. border with Mexico fell by half in January from record highs in December to the third lowest month of Biden’s presidency. But officials fear those figures could eventually rise again, particularly as the November presidential election nears.