Denver city council members speak out about migrant crime

(The Center Square) – Two city of Denver council members are speaking out about the correlation between the migrant crisis and the increase in crime in some districts throughout Denver.

This is according to a July 10 Safety, Housing, Education & Homelessness Committee meeting , where council members heard from Sarah Plastino, the director of the newcomer program for the city and county of Denver, about three migrant-related contracts that would cost the city roughly $17 million of the city’s $90 million 2024 funds already set aside for migrant-related issues.

“We have a hotspot in District 5, and we know that part of that hotspot is related to residents who have been housed in that apartment complex during our migrant crisis,” said Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer of District 5, continuing, “a vast, vast majority of people who are entering our programs are fantastic humans who want a better life, not all of them.”

Councilwoman Sawyer reiterated that there is currently no “mechanism” in place to identify the problem aside from going to the police.

Plastino said a code of conduct is signed when entering these programs, promising not to engage in criminal behavior. They have a system to eject those individuals from the program for violating the signed agreement if necessary.

The two council members did not say exactly where the crime “hot spots” were in the districts, but council member Stacie Gilmore, district 11, mentioned a robbery that had taken place in broad daylight.

“Police officers are way more expensive than social workers and public supports, and that is really troubling, not having a plan long term, because this is affecting safety and the community,” said Gilmore.

The Denver Police Department said in an email to The Center Square that the department tracks crime in many ways in an effort to reduce crimes.

“While the crime data can be filtered in many ways, citizenship status is not collected or tracked," the police stated. "It’s important for witnesses and victims of crime to know that DPD does not ask for citizenship status, so they are more inclined to report crimes, provide information, receive victim services, and participate in the judicial process.”

Denver has seen more than 42,000 migrants enter the city, according to the city’s website , costing taxpayers over $72 million.

Maureen O’Toole, a media spokeswoman for Congressional Leadership Fund, a GOP super PAC, used the report on migrant crime to criticize Democratic Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo of Colorado.

“Let’s not forget, the steep cost of the migrant crisis forced Denver to defund public safety by a whopping 17 million dollars, which has only made this crime crisis worse,” O’Toole said in an email to The Center Square. “And Yadira Caraveo invited this migrant crisis to Denver by voting AGAINST securing the border and urging President Biden to defund ICE and CBP [U.S. Customs and Border Protection]. Colorado families are less safe thanks to Yadira Caraveo’s radical open-borders agenda.”

Caraveo didn't respond to a request for comment.