Residents of the Denver, Colorado, suburb of Lakewood lashed out at the city council after it urged city staff to meet with the City of Denver’s staff to discuss possible options for Lakewood to work with Denver on the migrant crisis.
“Nearly 40,000 migrants have arrived in Denver over the past year, making a city with a population of just over 710,000 the top destination per capita for newly arrived migrants crossing the U.S. southern border and traveling north in buses,” NBC News reported in late January. The cost of the migrant crisis in Denver is expected to be $180 million.
On Monday night at the Lakewood city council meeting, one attendee held up a placard reading, “Not actively seeking sanctuary status while actively proposing to accept tax money to provide sanctuary to the unhoused is dishonest.”
“We do not want to be Denver,” former Councilwoman Mary Janssen stated. “I live in Lakewood. When did we decide to give away our immigration laws?”
A male attendee told the council, “This transfer station, which is gonna turn into a money pit and a magnet for every criminal that’s coming across the border, don’t we have enough problems in Lakewood without importing ’em from Denver who are saying, ‘Yeah, Lakewood, you’re stupid enough to take all of them. Take our problems, you dummies.’ It’s a money pit, and you guys are responsible for our money. Don’t screw it up! This is going to be a money pit! Can’t you guys think five minutes ahead? Do us a big favor and just quit. Get your sorry butts up and leave.”
“Any city resources, time, or money, focused on non-citizens, necessarily steals from our infrastructure, schools, security, and human services, And we are already doing our part as federal taxpayers,” a female resident declared. “Colorado Springs has already told Denver, ‘No migrants,’ and you must do same.”
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“The city manager and the city staff should be focused on the immediate needs of Lakewood,” another attendee echoed. “Should residents who’ve lived here and paid taxes their entire lives have to worry if their car will still be in their driveway tomorrow morning when they get up to go to work? Should they worry about shoplifters who have no fear of shoplifting cartfuls of items out of stores while they pay for their groceries? Focus on being good neighbors and fixing what ails Lakewood first.”
“The last few years we’ve seen our quiet Lakewood suburb turn into a place where there’s drugs, prostitution, and crime all over,” another attendee added. “And we’ve seen increasing support for building facilities for the homeless but if we do that, we’re going to become the center for Colorado to send their homeless. … I’d love to hear the actions that you’re gonna take to prevent a mass influx of migrants from coming into Lakewood; you could punish heavy drug use that we’re seeing openly done at Colfax and on the light rail; you could take an active stance against human trafficking; what are all these seedy massage parlors everywhere?”