Denver begs illegal immigrants to leave town, offers free busses to Canada

Denver officials begged illegal immigrants who arrived in the city to move away and offered to bus them to the Canadian border and other American cities. 

In the video obtained by 9NEWS, the City's Newcomer Communications Liaison Andres Carrera told a crowd at one of the city's shelters, "The opportunities are over." 

“You don’t have to walk anywhere, we can buy you a free ticket,” Carrera told the illegal immigrants. “You can go to any city. We can take you up to the Canadian border, wherever!” 

"New York gives you more. Chicago gives you more," he said to the group in Spanish. "So, I suggest you go there where there is longer-term shelter. There are also more job opportunities there.” 

“We have received too many migrants and that is why we ran out of resources,” Carrera said. "Look, we are not going to block you if you want to stay here. I am not here to block you." 

The liaison warned, "If you stay here, you are going to suffer even more, and I don't want to see this." Carrera told the group that their path had not ended, but that the city would buy them a free ticket to any city, or even the Canadian border. 

Earlier this month, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston announced budget cuts to city programs to cover the nearly $180 million that the illegal immigrant crisis is expected to cost the city and even asked residents to house "newcomers" who arrived. 

“I want to thank every resident in the city who has showed up to cook a meal for someone who has arrived, who has welcomed somebody to their home, who has offered them a job, who said, ‘We will help you find your way,’" he said at the time. “You’ve done your part. The city will do its part. The federal government did not do their part.” 

Denver is a sanctuary city of 710,000 residents and received nearly 40,000 illegal immigrants in the last year. The mayor recently claimed that it is the highest per capita among US cities. Tent cities began to pop up around the city as the shelters began to overflow earlier this year with one bar owner estimating "200 plus tents" around her business.