On Wednesday a group of local officials including the El Paso County board of commissioners and City Council member Dave Donelson called a press conference to respond to the news of migrants arriving in Colorado Springs. The officials presented a united front against El Paso becoming a sanctuary county, admonishing state and federal government for lack of action in stemming illegal immigration.
“Allow me to state unequivocally that we will not be designated as a sanctuary county. All five El Paso County commissioners are united in our position,” said board chair Cami Bremer.
Bremer and vice chair commissioner Carrie Geitner led the conference, coming out strong against the harboring of migrants in El Paso County. Commissioners reported the arrival of what they heard was around 30 migrants from Denver in the last few days.
A spokesperson with Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s office said Wednesday evening that it was not the policy of the city to send migrants to Colorado Springs and that the mayor’s office was not aware of any bus sent.
Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade released a statement on migration saying that some migrants had come to the city “organically” but that there was not currently an “emergency situation.” He affirmed the commissioners’ position that Colorado Springs would not become a sanctuary city.
“While we are called to serve and help those in need,” the statement read, “as Mayor I will act as a thoughtful and careful steward of our taxpayer dollars. We must use these limited resources in support of and in service to our own residents first.”
In the news conference, Geitner called sanctuary cities like Denver a “false beacon,” claiming that the migrant population has overwhelmed resources and that allowing migrants in was a “dangerous game.”
“There is nothing compassionate about this situation,” she said.
Denver saw upwards of 34,000 immigrants from countries like Venezuela and Columbia last year, arriving on 105 buses in December alone. Facing a humanitarian crisis, the city has purchased transportation to send about half of those migrants to other places, according to a spokesperson with Denver Human Services in December.
The commissioners acknowledged a lack of enforcement power in expelling migrants from the county should they arrive. The commissioners said that the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office’s powers were limited when it came to policing breaches of immigration statues, referencing state law that disallows certain kinds of cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Mobolade said in his statement that the Pikes Peak Regional Office of Emergency Management was preparing for scenarios in which groups of migrants arrived in the city unannounced. He said the position of the city was to be prepared for possibilities outside of its control.
“Hope, political grandstanding and simply saying ‘do not come here’ are not efficient response strategies,” the statement read.
The commissioners said that the migrants arrived on a bus and were taken in by an unnamed local nonprofit. Several board members called on local nonprofits to stop or refrain from providing aid to arriving migrants. Commissioner Holly Williams said that nonprofits needed to consider the “sentiment” in the county towards migrants in choosing whether to provide aid.
“I urge our nonprofit community and partners to refrain from welcoming this crisis by welcoming migrants,” said Geitner.
When asked what would happen to another bus of migrants dropped off, the commissioners said that the county would “follow the letter of the law” about unaccompanied minors and infectious disease situations, but that no other aid would be given if possible to legally avoid.
Geitner said the only county funds she personally would be willing to spend on migrants would be on a bus ticket out.
“Keep going. Do not stop here in El Paso County. We will not shelter,” she said.
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