The Colorado town refusing migrants: Monument unanimously rejects sanctuary status as nearby Denver buckles under influx

A Colorado town has voted to affirm its status as a non-sanctuary city, over fears that migrants from nearby Denver could flood the area. 

The town of Monument, 45 miles south of Denver, voted 7-0 to confirm the new resolution during a council meeting on Tuesday. 

The town council reviewed the resolution and drafted it in part after news of migrants arriving in nearby Colorado Springs, according to The Gazette.

Speaking to Fox News, Mayor Mitch LaKind said: 'The goal is to make sure that Denver knows that we will not being accepting bus loads of migrants into our community.

'We don't have a budget that matches theirs, we won't utilize taxpayer funds for the support of what they've decided to take on themselves as a sanctuary city.'

LaKind said that if migrants do appear in the town: 'The town administration and police force will work with federal agencies to have them picked up and brought to wherever it is they would be held.

'Their is no room in Monument for them. I'd like to see the President announce that he is shutting the border. 

'I have not heard of anybody reaching out to the council that has been against our resolution. If anything it has been a fairly unanimous "lets do this".'

Denver is a city that migrants are routinely shuttled to after entering the US, with weak southern border policies allowing December to shatter the record for CBP migrant encounters at over 302,000.

According to the Denver Post, Denver is currently allowing families to stay in city shelters for 42 days, up from 37 days. 

An online dashboard indicates that 53 migrants arrived in the city on Wednesday of this week, bringing the number served by the city to 38,726, with 2,714 in shelters. 

Most are Venezuelans fleeing a humanitarian crisis, according to the city of Denver. 

According to a report by The New York Times, the state capital has spent more than $42 million on the migrant problem. 

The outlet reported that if expenditure continues at the current rate of $3.5 million a week, the crisis could cost them $180 million in 2024. 

Due to the spending on the crisis, Denver mayor Mike Johnston announced cuts earlier this month, and warned the worst is still to come. 

Johnston announced cuts from its parks and recreation and DMV budget totaling $5 million.

Officials are also set to take $10 million from contingency funds and $15 million from maintenance projects. 

'While they are the first steps, they unfortunately will not be the last,' Johnson said, adding that the cuts also likely 'will not be the hardest.' 

Johnston added that he hopes the budget can return to normal in 2025, but did not appear confident as he said that 'everything is on the table for us.' 

The cuts to the Parks and Rec department started this week, with reduced opening hours for recreation centers across the city.

Residents will also no longer be able to enjoy recreation centers every day of the week, as those open for all seven days are set to be reduced to six days.

In the cuts to the DMV, residents will no longer be able to get vehicle registrations in person after March 4.

Instead, all vehicle registrations will have to be completed by mail, online, or by in-store kiosks.

The impact on the DMV would not stop there, however, as four branches will be closed for one week at a time every four weeks on a rotating basis.

Due to the immigration problem, Denver's hospitals are also at risk of collapsing due to the strain on the healthcare system.

UCHealth was given $17 million from other hospitals, including $10 million from University Colorado Hospital, to help care for 5,800 undocumented patients.

Medics believe these patients are mostly - if not entirely - migrants, because the data covers people who don't have a Social Security number or health insurance and were seeking healthcare in the US for the first time.

And this figure is only the tip of the iceberg. It excludes migrants who had sought care from the system before or those who qualified for emergency Medicaid, which covers undocumented patients in labor or with some life-threatening conditions.

The city's main public hospital, Denver Health, has already plunged deep into the red after patients received $136 million in treatment they couldn't pay for, bosses warned.  

Denver Health lost $2 million in 2022 - but that was substantially-reduced by a $20 million cash injection from the state.

In 2022, the hospital system lost $35 million, with bosses warning of 'dire consequences' for the hospital if 2024 is as bad as the previous two.