Denver landlords receive a phone call that no landlord wants to receive.
Now that the sanctuary city is housing fewer illegal immigrants in shelters, the local government is looking to private property owners to rent to immigrants.
Officials share that thousands have emerged from shelters, according to Fox 31.
“We're now at less than 1,800, which is the first time that number has been down since September,” said John Ewing of Denver Human Services.
In January alone, nearly 4,500 illegal immigrants were occupying shelters within the city.
But while the number of migrants in shelters is decreasing, the number of migrants inside Denver is not.
“We've been feeling all the landlords we have relationships with,” Ewing said. “I basically said, 'Listen, we're going to have some newcomers who are going to need housing.'
He noted that there is a maximum rent of $2,000 for landlords to charge immigrants. “Nonprofits have already connected people to all types of housing throughout Denver,” he said.
While this may seem like a feel-good story, with migrants emerging from shelters and moving into homes, it is much less glamorous than what the city is about.
As the number of migrants in shelters declines, so too does the number of shelters as the city works to reduce its massive budget deficit, according to Denver 7.
Mayor Mike Johnston claims the city will save nearly $60 million by closing four shelters, the first of which closed its doors on Tuesday.
“That means the $180 million deficit we were facing is now closer to $120 million. “That still leaves us with $120 million in cuts,” he said during a news conference. “That means we still have work to do.”
So far, the migrants have cost the city more than $59 million, significantly impacting the city's budget.
So the reality of the situation is that the city is trying to save money by throwing immigrants into rented homes, thus not taking on more financial responsibility, and shifting the burden elsewhere.
Additionally, the cap on rent means that landlords who rent properties to immigrants may not get the amount their properties are worth so the city can save money.
According to RentCafe, the average rental price in the city is only $1,979, which means that half of the properties will be unavailable to immigrants, or landlords will be shortchanged.
If Denver wants to push hard to keep illegal immigrants inside the city, that responsibility falls on the city.
Asking residents who already had to pay taxes to fund illegal immigrants to provide additional money and resources to house them is a disaster.
Leaders in sanctuary cities always seem stuck between the idea that they need to help these people and the reality that they can't without placing a heavy burden on taxpayers.
Unfortunately, it appears once again that they have chosen illegal immigrants over their own citizens.
This article originally appeared in The Western Journal.
