Denver, CO
Opinion: Between a rock and a hard place, we must care for the South American migrants
If only navigating public policy were like a “choose your own adventure” novel where the right choices lead inexorably to a successful and satisfying ending. In real life, there are no solutions, only imperfect options, difficult trade-offs, and partial remedies. To complicate matters, sometimes the most ethical choice is the least practical.
The current migrant crisis is one such case. Denver has made the right decision and born the cost while other Front Range cities have shut their doors.
In addition to Ukrainians and Afghans who come to our shores by plane, a record number of migrants from Venezuela, Central America, the Caribbean, and other places are coming daily by land.
Thanks to dysfunction at the border — too few judges, too loose a standard for qualifying for asylum, and too little room in detention centers — most migrants at the southern border are allowed to enter the country with the expectation they will attend a court hearing in the future. According to Department of Justice data, more than half of those released into the country attend their hearing.
Some of these migrants meet the definition of asylee; they have suffered harm because of their race, religion, political affiliations, or other distinctions and are likely to be abused or killed if they return. In 2022, less than a third of Venezuelan applicants were granted asylum, a higher percentage than other Latin American applicants. This suggests a majority of asylum seekers are fleeing poverty rather than persecution.
Since the socialist takeover, life in Venezuela has descended into poverty and oppression. Middle-class workers like nurses and teachers make $3 a month. Critics of the government are jailed and tortured. People disappear. More than 7 million Venezuelans have left the country, the vast majority of which, 86%, are living in Latin America and the Caribbean. Colombia alone has absorbed 2 million fleeing Venezuelans.
When migrants arrive, they seek available work. In the U.S., asylum seekers may apply for work permits but must wait six months. Those who have received Temporary Protected Status or humanitarian parole can work sooner. In the interim, migrants must rely on relatives, nonprofits, and communities to meet their daily needs.
The City of Denver recently spent $42 million to provide support for some 38,000 migrants. Presently, 4,000 migrants are housed in temporary shelters. Although the city has received $3.5 million from the state, most of the funding has come from Denver’s budget. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has asked city departments to cut back and has announced cuts to Parks and Recreation and Denver Motor Vehicle offices. Meanwhile, UCHealth has spent $17 million over the past three months to treat migrant patients. Denver Public Schools have absorbed the cost of enrolling 3,000 new students from migrant families.
By contrast, Colorado Springs and Lakewood have essentially closed their doors to migrants. The Colorado Springs City Council passed a resolution stating the city is not a sanctuary city and will not spend public funds to support illegal immigrants. Officials also urged nonprofits not to help migrants after learning the Colorado Springs Salvation Amy had helped 24 migrant families.
The Lakewood City Council hosted a packed meeting of denizens concerned about false rumors the city was considering becoming a sanctuary city and offering shelter to migrants. City council members have assured them they have no intention.
A “sanctuary city” refers to a jurisdiction that has chosen to limit police cooperation with federal law enforcement. Denver, Aurora and Boulder all limit such cooperation, but only Boulder has officially adopted the label. The state also limits police cooperation and provides immigrants here without legal status access to instate tuition, financial aid, driver’s licenses, housing assistance, and occupational licenses. Colorado could be considered a sanctuary state.
Could these policies encourage settlement of migrants with asylum claims awaiting adjudication or illegal immigrants? That’s worth discussing, but changing the laws now will not help the migrants who need a place to sleep and a bite to eat.
Does Congress need to address the deficiencies at the border in a bipartisan way? Certainly, and in ordinary times it might be possible. This is an election year.
Are people frustrated by migrants wading into traffic with squeegees and worried about the impact of immigration on hospitals, schools, and city budgets? Understandably, yes. There are no good solutions.
In this between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place situation, however, Denver (and the Colorado Springs Salvation Army) have nonetheless made the best choice. They fed the hungry, bandaged their wounds, taught their children, and gave them a place to rest their heads.
Krista L. Kafer is a weekly Denver Post columnist. Follow her on Twitter: @kristakafer.
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Denver, CO
Suns lookahead: Phoenix looks to end Christmas skid in holiday matchup vs. Denver Nuggets
Phoenix Suns coming off back-to-back wins
The Phoenix Suns won their last two games despite missing injured guard Bradley Beal. What’s next for the team?
The Phoenix Suns will play in their fourth consecutive Christmas Day game Wednesday against the Denver Nuggets at Footprint Center.
The week begins with a Monday game at Denver and finishes with a back-to-back set: Friday’s home game against the Dallas Mavericks and Saturday’s matchup at Golden State.
It’s nice to play on the most celebrated holiday of the year, especially at home.
Family and loved ones in town. Everyone watching on national television.
A festive time for celebrating and gift-giving, but the Grinch keeps showing up and ruining Christmas for the Suns.
Phoenix is 1-7 in its past eight Christmas games, losing the past three to the Golden State Warriors, 116-107, in 2021; at the Denver Nuggets, 128-125 in overtime, in 2022; and against Dallas, 128-114, last year.
What’s even crazier is the Suns lost to teams that either won an NBA championship or reached the finals that season.
The Warriors won it all in the 2021-22 season, the Nuggets took it in 2022-23 and the Mavericks advanced to the finals before losing to the 2023-24 NBA champion Boston Celtics.
The Suns last won on Christmas in 2009, beating the Los Angeles Clippers, 124-93, at home. Phoenix went more than 10 seasons without playing on the holiday until the 2021-22 season, the year after it reached the 2021 finals.
Phoenix is 12-9 overall on Christmas.
Christmas 2021: Curry leads Warriors past Suns
The Suns played the centerpiece Christmas game in 2021 against the Warriors during their historic 64-win season. They entered the marquee matchup with a 26-5 record and on a five-game winning streak, but lost at home.
Phoenix bolstered the best home record that season at 32-9 with one of those rare losses coming on Christmas. The Suns didn’t score in the final three minutes while Otto Porter Jr. scored the game’s final seven points.
Stephen Curry punched out a game-high 33 points to go with six assists to just one turnover while Chris Paul led the Suns with 21 points and eight assists to two turnovers and six rebounds.
Devin Booker managed just 13 points on 5-of-19 shooting.
Christmas 2022: Booker injured early, Suns fall in OT
In 2022, the Suns lost Booker within the first five minutes of their Christmas loss to the Nuggets at Ball Arena in Denver as he aggravated a groin injury. Scoring just two points, he had missed the previous three games.
Landry Shamet came off the bench to deliver 31 points to match a career-high, and Nikola Jokic posted another insane triple-double of 41 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists, but the game will forever be remembered for Aaron Gordon’s ferocious one-handed dunk in overtime over Shamet, who tried to take the charge on the play.
Gordon was first called for an offensive foul, but after review, the call was overturned because Shamet was ruled outside of the restricted area.
Gordon missed the ensuing free throw, but his dunk gave Denver a 126-123 lead with 24 seconds left.
Christmas 2023: Doncic 50-piece dooms Suns
Then last season, Luka Doncic cooked the Suns for 50 points in leading Dallas to victory at Footprint Center. Shooting 8-of-16 from 3, Doncic became the seventh-fastest to reach 10,000 career points.
Grayson Allen scored a team-high 32 points to lead the Suns, going 8-of-17 from 3 while Kevin Durant and Booker combined for just 36 points on 10-of-25 shooting.
The Suns were without Bradley Beal (right ankle sprain) and Jusuf Nurkic (personal reasons) while the Mavericks won despite Kyrie Irving being sidelined due to a heel injury.
The Suns now have another chance to win on Christmas.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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Esther Romero
OBITUARY
Esther Romero (Lopez), 84, entered into eternal rest surrounded by her loving family. Born in Mt. Harris, Colorado, a small coal mining town near Steamboat Springs, her family moved to Denver in 1950. She graduated from North High School in 1957 and was the first in her family to attend college. She left for Colorado State College now UNC in 1958 where she soon met the love of her life and future husband Richard Romero. Esther graduated in 1961, married a week later, and together moved to Castle Rock where she began her career as an educator. Before long they returned to Denver where their three daughters were born. In 1972, Esther became one of Denver Public Schools first bilingual bicultural teachers and soon earned her Masters Degree from UNC. A passionate advocate, she understood the value of building a strong educational foundation in a child’s home language and honoring culture while also learning English. She taught at Elmwood, Del Pueblo, and Fairmont elementaries. A founding member of the Congress of Hispanic Educators (CHE), Esther served as president for many years helping to ensure children in DPS had access to a quality bilingual education. She continued this work through her final days. Esther taught for 30 years, was recognized as a master teacher of children, an exceptional mentor and coach to future educators, and served as a liaison between CU-Denver and DPS. She was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma.
Esther enjoyed traveling with family and friends to Mexico, Europe, South America, the Caribbean, and almost all fifty states. She and Richard were avid Broncos fans holding season tickets since 1970, traveling to two Super Bowls. She loved organizing family gatherings, gambling trips, camping, reading, puzzles, and playing games with family. She had the unique ability to make everyone feel seen, heard, valued, and loved.
She was preceded in death by her parents Luis and Tommie G. Lopez, devoted husband Richard Romero, brother Baltazar Lopez ( Lourdes) and survived by her loving daughters Rosana (Dean) Trujillo, Carla (Arturo) Perez, Diana (John) Romero Campbell, and her grandchildren Arturito, Juliana, Claudia, Sofia, Orlando, Geronimo and Alicia, her sister Alice (Joe) Marquez, brothers Louie (Pat dec.) Lopez, Davey (Pat dec.) Lopez, Robert (Shari) Lopez, Ray (Melva) Lopez, and numerous extended family members. Please see www.cfcscolorado.org for service details.
The Salvation Army provides shelter, meals, and support for families in need in our community every day, but they need help to raise those donations.
They have put out a call for paid and volunteer bell ringers to collect donations vital to support their programs and services.
All of the donations raised go to serve the Denver community. Funds go to serve families struggling to feed their children or provide gifts during the holidays as well as disaster services and much more for the residents of the Denver metro area.
Bell ringers get to pick their hours and location, and friends and families are encouraged to volunteer together and give back to the community.
Those interested in volunteering can sign up online at www.registertoring.com. To find a paid bell ringer position, applicants can visit the Salvation Corps nearest to their neighborhood.
A listing of all Denver area Corps locations is available at visiting.denver.salvationarmy.org. Applicants must be 18 or over to have a paid bell ringing position.
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