Denver Migrants, Advocates Complain Six Months of Free Rent Is ‘Insufficient’

A housing advocacy group is slamming Denver’s new Asylum Seekers Program as “insufficient” and “a slap in the face,” even staging a protest to voice their disapproval — as the city spends tens of millions of dollars on migrant aid and slashes its emergency services budget to stave off insolvency in the wake of the influx.

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The program will provide six months of free housing, food assistance, workforce training and more to the approximately 1,000 migrants currently in the city’s shelter system as they await authorization to work, which due to federal asylum seeker law can take up to 180 days.

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Until now, migrants were allowed to stay in shelters between two and six weeks, but the new rules dictate that migrants arriving in the city after April 10 must vacate after 24-72 hours, after which they will be “provided a short-term stay at a congregate site along with assistance securing onward travel to another destination.”

Advocacy group Housekeys Action Network Denver (HAND) decried the changes, telling local ABC affiliate KMGH-TV that the shift would overwhelm groups working to help migrants.

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Migrant Willy Bastidas said the policy would only exacerbate the homelessness crisis families are facing.

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“The mayor doesn’t represent us … He needs to listen to us and work with us to a better solution.”

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