Sen. Bennet, Sen. Hickenlooper and others seek federal assistance

SAN LUIS VALLEY— On Jan. 18, County Commissioners in Rio Grande County and Alamosa County met separately to address a possible influx of migrants to the Valley from other countries. At this point, there have not been any arrivals of migrants, and various county officials stressed they are only making plans to be prepared in the event of any migrant arrivals.

In December of last year, the small mountain community of Carbondale was suddenly impacted by the arrival of over 120 migrants, mostly from Venezuela. This event raised concerns that other rural Colorado communities may see the arrival of new migrant residents. Carbondale has requested $224,000 in emergency state funds to help with the influx.

In Rio Grande County, Commissioners passed a resolution, "Opposing Support for Illegal Immigration and Undocumented Persons." The resolution reads in part, "That Rio Grande County is not a sanctuary county and will not open shelters or provide services to undocumented persons and or illegal immigrants that may be in the San Luis Valley and in Rio Grande County. Rio Grande County will continue to place the needs of our local citizens first above requests for emergency or long-term assistance from non-citizens. The Rio Grande County Board of County Commissioners calls upon the United States Congress to immediately restore the rule of law along the Southwest Border by enforcing the existing laws and rapidly creating a system to allow reasonable vetting of migrants who may enter the United States legally and become productive members of this country.”

In an interview with the Valley Courier, Rio Grande Commissioner Tyler Ratzlaff said, "There are illegal immigrants being shipped around, Denver has a bunch and Carbondale got some and we wanted to be ahead of it if they wanted to send them our way."

On Jan. 12, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott announced that his initiative, Operation Lone Star, has transported 100,000 migrants to other states including 15,700 to Denver.

Ratzlaff said that there had not been an influx of migrants.

"We're just trying to be ahead of it. We just feel we don't have the resources to help and every dollar we spend for illegal aliens we don't have to spend for our own citizens...we are just not set up to house illegal aliens." If migrants do arrive in the county, Ratzlaff said, "We have the funds to help them travel elsewhere."

On the other side of the Valley, Alamosa County Commissioners held a work session regarding migrant services, Eric Treinen, Director and SLV Emergency Secretary for the Alamosa County Office of Emergency Management attended the meeting. He will address the San Luis Valley Commissioners Association meeting next week on the subject of migrant housing.

Treinen told the Valley Courier, "We have no knowledge of a group of Southwest border migrants intending to come to the San Luis Valley, we don't know that for sure, but we are going before the county commissioners as a whole in response to the Carbondale migrants. We are trying to create a plan and discussion between all of the Valley Commissioners so that if we do have a group show up, how can we help assist them, what can we do, what is the commissioners as our policy group holders, what is their intent to assist.

"We all do not want people to die, our concern is if they show up tomorrow night and it is seven below. People coming from near the Equator are not going to be prepared for our climate. How can we get them moved to a more appropriate location where they do have services. At our Alamosa County Commissioners [work session] meeting on Wednesday, we wanted to make it very clear that Alamosa County does not have services to help these individuals. We are at capacity; we are struggling to help the homeless that we do have right now. We are tapped out, but we don't want people to die either...we don't have the resources,” said Treinen.

Alamosa County Administrator Roni Wisdom said, "Commissioner Laske's initial comment was that Alamosa County is not a sanctuary county and, while we truly appreciate those that have designated themselves as a sanctuary county, Alamosa County does not have the resources to provide assistance to anyone long term." Wisdom continued, "We believe it would be a good idea to draft a letter/statement to send to agencies that are in sanctuary cities/counties expressing our appreciation for what they are doing and remind them that Alamosa County does not have the resources needed to take care of migrants. We would respectfully ask them to discourage anyone who thinks they may want to come to the Valley."

At a press conference in Washington on Jan. 18, Senator Michael Bennet, Senator John Hickenlooper, Rep. Jason Crow, U.S. Rep Brittany Pettersen, and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston met and urged Congress to support Colorado communities receiving migrants.

Mayor Johnston said, "We are a city that is facing a humanitarian crisis and a fiscal crisis unlike anything we have seen in the last 25 years and that is the result of migrants that are arriving." Johnson estimated the crisis may cost the city $180 million in 2024.

"Ultimately we see that we need comprehensive immigration reform, but in the process of working towards that, we have to take care of the people that have come here are housed and fed humanly," said Sen. Hickenlooper.

Sen. Bennett offered, "Colorado communities like Denver and Carbondale have worked hard to house the immigrants that had come there, but they don't have room in their budgets to be able to deal with this on our own. Congress needs to step up, Immigration is the responsibility of the federal government — we can't fail, blame each other, walk away and say it's someone else's responsibility. This is our responsibility.

"We need to make sure that funding compensates the interior cities like Denver, Carbondale, and interior units of government so that they can continue to provide services they provided to our own taxpayers as well as providing a humane response to immigrants who are just seeking a better life," said Bennet.

During the press conference, Colorado Rep. Crow said he and others sent a letter to Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator (FEMA) Deanne Criswell. The group requested funds available through FEMA's Shelter and Services Program (SSP). "In light of the recent influx on migrants across the state, there is a pressing need for expanded support. All the affected communities must be eligible to apply to every funding tranche should the new funds become available," according to the Dec. 22 letter. The letter requested increased funding for the program, and that the eligibility criteria for the program be expanded. "Colorado has experienced a significant influx of migrants which is placing considerable strain on state and local government resources and nonprofit organizations," said the letter signed by Crow, Hickenlooper, Bennett, and several other elected officials.

The San Luis Valley County Commissioners Association will hear a presentation from Treinen at their meeting on Monday at 9:30 a.m., regarding immigrant issues. The meeting is at the Alamosa County Commissioners Chambers located at 8900 Independence Way in Alamosa and via Zoom with meeting ID 270-314-6874.