As AFN has reported, Denver has become a popular destination for the illegal alien invasion. The Democrats who control the city have responded by allocating nearly $46 million – in addition to $44 million already secured through previous budget moves – to cover the costs what Mayor Mike Johnson (D) calls "newcomers" in 2024, slashing nearly $8.5 million and $2.5 million respectively from the city's police and fire departments.
Ira Mehlman, media director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), notes that in both cases, the savings will come from not filling open positions.
"Crime is an issue everywhere in the country. Police departments are stretched to the limits. They very often have trouble filling vacancies, and this is just going to exacerbate the problem," he warns. "They're going to be diverting money away from law enforcement and protecting the citizens of Denver to providing all sorts of benefits and services to people who are there illegally."
Denver is not the only city doing this; the idea, Mehlman observes, "just seems to be spreading across the country." But he expects voters will take out their frustrations about it at the ballot box.
"All across the country, law and order is a key issue," he asserts. "People are seeing all kinds of havoc being wreaked on their communities, and the idea that we should be abolishing police or defunding police or transferring money away from the police to other services, especially when it comes to dealing with illegal immigration, is not one that goes over well with voters."
Mayor Johnston's office rejects the description of the cuts as "defunding" the police and maintains there will be no impact to the department's public services.
