Colorado Gov. Jared Polis plans to send migrants to major cities, including New York, Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday. Adams warned that the nation's largest city is already struggling to deal with an influx of people sent from Texas and other Republican-led states, reports Politico. Polis, a Democrat, says his state is helping asylum seekers reach their final destinations and that the only change has been winter storms that have caused many migrants to want to leave Denver. Like many major cities, Denver has been struggling to provide services for a surge of migrants that crossed the southern border and sought asylum in the U.S. Over the past month, more than 3,500 migrants have arrived in Denver and around 1,800 asylum seekers have sought shelter each night. Denver Mayor Michael Hancock declared a state of emergency and later appealed to the local Catholic archdiocese for assistance. He and Polis also launched a fund to raise money for migrant services. Polis said the state has made $5 million available to assist with expenses. On Tuesday, Polis announced a partnership including the state, the city and local nonprofits designed to beef up transportation services for asylum seekers trying to get out of Colorado, an initiative welcomed by Hancock.
“I appreciate [Polis] and the State for leaning in to support those coming to our city to reach their preferred destinations, and to help reduce the number of people in our shelters and more quickly connect them with community supports and other options,” Hancock said. Thousands of migrants have attempted to cross into the U.S. from the southern border in recent weeks, in part because a Trump administration border policy, known as Title 42, was set to expire in December. The Supreme Court has blocked the lifting of the policy, which allows the U.S. to expel migrants to stop the spread of COVID-19. Over the spring and summer, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott bused thousands of migrants from the border to blue strongholds like New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. Th e dilemma at the border has become worse. El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser declared a state of emergency in December after migrants began pouring into the city. Colorado's Polis said that most officials dealing with an influx of migrants have been acting in good faith. “Too many people, in our opinion, view this through a political lens or as playing politics — and it’s terrible that in some places, people have been used as political props,” he said. “But what we are doing here is just honoring our values by treating people with dignity and respect.” Adams said that 30,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York City since the spring in need of food, shelter and education, a surge that has stretched the city’s social service infrastructure to the breaking point and opened up risks for the municipal budget.
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