DENVER - The state of Colorado, in partnership with the City of Denver and local non-profits, has been working tirelessly to address the influx of migrants traveling to the state. About 70% of the migrants arriving in Denver don't have Colorado as a final destination and due to weather and workforce shortage, they have been experiencing transportation cancellations. In order to facilitate the safe and voluntary transit of people to their desired destination, the state is working with culturally competent navigators to ensure that each individual is voluntarily making their own travel decision.
The majority of migrants have a final destination other than Denver and the state of Colorado in partnership with the City and County of Denver has begun taking steps to carry that out.
“No one should play politics with the lives of migrants who came here to escape oppression, and in Colorado, we are honoring our values of treating people with dignity and respect. We are simply carrying out our values of treating every human being with dignity and respect. Coloradans would expect nothing less from us to uphold our shared values to assist people fleeing oppression. The stories I’ve heard firsthand from migrants are heartbreaking and we are helping these individuals complete their long and arduous journey. States and cities cannot continue to bear this burden alone and Congress needs to finally step up - we need an immediate route to work permits, and to finally enact better border security and immigration reform,” said Governor Polis.
To help solve this challenge, the State is partnering with Denver and nonprofits to provide intake, processing, and transportation coordination to help migrants safely reach their desired final destination. Our priority is ensuring that this is done in a culturally competent manner, in the most humane possible way, and in coordination with the receiving community.
In order to facilitate the safe and voluntary transit of people, the state is working with culturally competent navigators to ensure that each individual is voluntarily making their decision. The state is partnering with two non-profits that have experience working with the immigrant and specifically the Venezuelan community and will be working actively with those navigators to ensure people are selecting their preferred locations, and once there, can seamlessly connect to family members, friends, and services when they reach their destination.