Free Republic

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s administration is saddling Denver taxpayers with a whopping $90 million bill to address the ongoing illegal immigration crisis. The city implemented several measures to meet this substantial financial obligation, including freezing the hiring of approximately 160 vacant positions and reallocating funds from various sources. In his announcement, he signaled a major shift in Denver’s response to the migrant crisis.

Florida recently passed a law that eliminates squatter's rights.. Squatting laws have become a frequent target of exploitation by savvy criminals who fraudulently move into vacant homes across the nation. Experts warn that the problem could be compounded by the ongoing immigration crisis, with migrants catching wind of the laws and taking advantage of them. "I have thought about invading a house in the United States," migrant Leonel Moreno said in Spanish in a TikTok video that went viral last month. "I found out that there is a law that says that if a house is not inhabited, we can...

When a wave of migrants began arriving in Democratic-run cities far from the Southern border two years ago, officials welcomed them with open arms. Now they’re limiting aid to new arrivals as their instinct for compassion confronts hard budgetary realities. In recent days, New York and Chicago — two of the nation’s largest cities — have instituted substantial changes to their shelter policies. In Chicago, the city began evicting migrants who had overstayed a new 60-day time limit, saying it did not have the resources to meet the need. In New York, migrants had benefited from the city’s right to...

A Haitian national, released into the United States, is accused of raping a 15-year-old girl at a migrant shelter in the sanctuary state of Massachusetts. Cory Alvarez, a 26-year-old migrant from Haiti, has been arrested and charged this week with aggravated rape of a child under 16-years-old. Alvarez has since pleaded not guilty to the charge. According to Plymouth County law enforcement, Alvarez was living at a migrant shelter in Rockland, Massachusetts when he invited the 15-year-old girl over to his room. The girl told police Alvarez promised to help her open apps on her tablet.

Murdered Georgia nursing student Laken Riley might still be alive if it wasn’t for sanctuary city policies pushed by former Mayor Bill de Blasio and left-wing extremists on the City Council — who have “blood on their hands,” critics told The Post. Nearly six months before the 22-year-old Riley was found dead Feb. 22 on the University of Georgia’s campus, her alleged killer Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was arrested in Queens on Aug. 31 and charged with endangering a child. However, because of migrant-friendly changes made to the sanctuary city policy in both 2014 in 2017 by de Blasio and...

New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Monday doubled down while speaking to a group at a town hall meeting in Canarsie, Brooklyn, saying the sanctuary city law needs to be modified so that any migrant who commits a felony can be turned over to ICE and deported. Adams commended his administration for doing an excellent job during a challenging time, but stated his hands are tied by federal and local law. The mayor spoke about some migrants participating in robberies and using mopeds to commit snatch and grab stick-ups. The issue, Adams said, became a real problem, so the...

Guest columnist Perry Pendley writes, "Denver will spend $180 million, 10% of its annual budget, giving illegal immigrants housing, food, and other services. As they push its illegal immigrant problem off on other jurisdictions, Wyoming should expect illegal aliens heading north to Cheyenne and Laramie." Like most Americans, Wyomingites are horrified by the nation’s illegal immigration crisis; it is their number one issue says a new public opinion poll. Once a concern of Texans and south westerners, it is now a national problem; after all, the sight at the border of hordes of single, military-aged men from scores of countries...

Denver's hospitals are at risk of collapsing due to out-of-control immigration, with one healthcare system providing $17 million in free care in just three months. It comes as the Colorado city's Mayor Mike Johnston warns he's had to cut DMV and Parks & Rec funding 'in the face of the migrant crisis'. Struggling UCHealth was given $17 million from other hospitals, including $10 million from University Colorado Hospital, to help care for 5,800 undocumented patients between November and January, according to the Denver Post. Medics believe these patients are mostly - if not entirely - migrants, because the data covers...

On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” host Bill Maher stated that under our current system, immigration hasn’t been positive for the U.S. and the reaction of sanctuary cities to having migrants bused to them shows this. Maher began by saying that “some immigration” is “the lifeblood of this country.” Later in the segment, CNN Senior Political Commentator and former Obama Adviser Van Jones stated, “Immigration is good for America. It’s positive for America.”

Some left-wing politicians in Massachusetts are totally in favor of housing illegal immigrants – somewhere else. The latest example: Boston city councilor Julia Mejia, who says she doesn’t want more of them in Boston. So where should they go? “Dedham, Wellesley, Brookline – you know, cities and towns that have so much more resources than the city of Boston. You know, people who actually have more financial support,” Mejia told NBC Boston recently. Now, when it comes to “resources” – public buildings, let’s say – nowhere in the state has more of them than the city of Boston. Yet what...

Denver is cutting $5 million from public services used by its residents in order to pay for its spiraling illegal immigration costs, with the city’s mayor pinning the blame on Republicans and former President Donald Trump. Mayor Mike Johnston, a Democrat, announced on Friday that hours will be cut at recreation centers, and in-person vehicle registration renewals at the DMV will end, while the planting of spring flower beds will also be stopped to save the much-needed cash. The cuts follow the mayor’s decision last month to divert $25 million from the city budget to the migrant crisis. That plan...

The head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says sanctuary cities are "inherently unsafe." That puts him at odds with the White House, which has repeatedly defended Democrat-controlled cities that harbor illegal aliens. "Sanctuary jurisdictions are inherently more unsafe because they’re letting these individuals out who have serious convictions," acting ICE director Patrick Lechleitner said in a Friday interview with Fox News. "Sanctuary jurisdiction" refers to any municipality whose leaders refuse to cooperate with immigration officials when an illegal alien under their jurisdiction commits an offense that would result in deportation. Lechleitner’s comments—a response to the Thursday arrest of four...

As the migration crisis unfolds, sanctuary cities and their suburbs find themselves at the epicenter of a growing migrant crime wave. Released migrants, after crossing the border illegally, are impacting communities, particularly in the Chicago area and New York City, where police report alarming increases in crime related to this population. Oak Brook, a suburb of Chicago, has experienced a surge in migrant-related crimes, with Police Chief Brian Strokis reporting six felony arrests in a single day and a total of 49 migrant arrests since October 23. Chief Strokis emphasizes the significance of these incidents, stating that the migrant crime...

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D) sounded the alarm that his city is nearing a “breaking point” as it struggles to keep up with the flood of migrants. “I think our city is very close to its breaking point now,” Johnston said in an interview aired Wednesday on “Fox & Friends. “And we’ve been talking to leaders in D.C. around the country about why we need them to take action here. I think we have successfully welcomed almost 40,000 migrants in the last year and — and we know what it takes to do this successfully, we just need that help,”...

In the ongoing discourse around immigration, Elon Musk’s recent comments have ignited a firestorm, raising critical questions about the capacity of cities to handle increasing migrant populations. Musk’s assertion that if Denver struggles with 40,000 undocumented individuals, how will they manage the next 400,000, has sparked debates on both sides of the political spectrum. Starting on February 5, Denver plans to impose limitations on the number of days undocumented individuals can stay in shelters, a move that has been met with criticism. Musk himself labels the action as heartless and racist, contrasting with Denver’s self-proclaimed status as a Sanctuary City.

The Denver hospital system is turning away local residents because it is flooded with migrant visits. Denver Health CEO Donna Lynne warned the center is in a crucial moment due to unexpected costs associated with immigrant visits. What I think is not being said is that Denver Health is at a critical, critical point and that we need to take this up in 2024,” Lynne told the Denver City Council, according to the Denver Post. Eight-thousand migrants from Central America accounted for approximately 20,000 visits in 2023. Denver Health asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide funds for immigrants’...

A Chicago Democrat is calling for the city's sanctuary status to be removed as the migrant crisis continues to squeeze community resources. Government employee Cata Truss told "Fox News @ Night" Democrat voters like her are growing increasingly frustrated with the party's handling of the issue. "There is no moneys to take care of the migrants, nor is there moneys to take care of the people that are there. And so we have a mess on our hands," Truss said Wednesday. Truss argued Windy City residents are upset over low income communities and schools being "divested in" while funds are...

Lāna‘i is a place like no other. On this tiny island you’ll find coffee shops that open and close when they please, a relaxed mood among residents and an idyllic cat shelter, among other things. Started in 2004 by Kathy Carroll, the Lāna‘i Cat Sanctuary has become one of the biggest visitor attractions on the island, and its purpose and mission—to help control Lāna‘i’s wild cat population—has remained the same. After moving to Lāna‘i with her husband, Mike, who now owns an art studio in town, Carroll quickly found herself caring for a small stray kitten. Lāna‘i didn’t have a...

New York City Mayor Eric Adams denied that the migrant crisis he faces was an inevitable outcome of being a sanctuary city. Republican governors like Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, have sent buses of asylum seekers to Democratic-controlled states and sanctuary cities. Republicans have argued the action is necessary to show the rest of the country what border states are dealing with due to the surge of migrants. In a recent GOP primary debate, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley argued that the migrant crisis overwhelming Democratic cities was the inevitable outcome of impractical policy. "This is putting harm on our schools,...

A man who came to the U.S. illegally and was subsequently deported four times allegedly killed a mother and her son in Colorado, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Jose Guadalupe Menjivar-Alas, who is from El Salvador, was previously deported four times after initially sneaking into the country undetected, ICE said. Menjivar-Alas, 37, was charged with vehicular homicide reckless, vehicular homicide DUI and habitual traffic offender after he allegedly crashed his vehicle and killed 47-year-old Melissa Powell and her 16-year-old son, Riordan, on Dec. 12, according to the Broomfield Police Department. The accused...