Scoop: Immigrant director departs as city's migrant response winds down

• Her departure comes one week after the city closed its only remaining migrant shelter, the last of 10 such sites set up to respond to migrant arrivals largely coming from Venezuela.

Why it matters: The changes mark the end of the emergency response that started nearly two years ago, as the city shifts focus to help the roughly 20,000 people who remain in the metro area.

What they're saying: "It means families have found their place," ViVe Wellness executive director Yoli Casas, who helped move people into the last shelter, told 9News about its closure.

By the numbers: Denver assisted at least 42,911 migrants — now called "newcomers" by city staff — since December 2022.

• The number of people arriving plummeted starting this summer.

State of play: The city stopped tracking migrants in October after closing a site used to record who was using city services, mayoral spokesperson Jon Ewing tells us.

• Newcomers who need somewhere to stay now are referred to local homeless shelters, including the Tamarac Family Shelter, he adds.
• Ewing says he doesn't believe migrants are still coming to Denver in significant numbers.

Zoom in: Mayor Mike Johnston budgeted $12.5 million for newcomers in 2025, though Ewing says the city is still determining how to use the money.

• By contrast, Denver budgeted $90 million for newcomers this year, though it wasn't all spent: $22.5 million will return to the city's general fund and pay for the budget's line item for newcomers next year.

Between the lines: Johnston in a statement said the city owes Plastino "a tremendous debt" for her work after she was appointed in February.

What's next: Ewing says the city will continue sponsoring work authorization clinics to assist migrants who want to work here legally.

• The program has prepared 4,461 applications in 2024.