Denver Mayor Mike Johnston insisted he is ‘not afraid’ of being jailed over his staunch opposition to Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans.
The Democrat has been outspoken in his criticism of Trump and his new ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan, who has directly threatened Johnston with jail time if he stands in their way.
In an appearance on Monday with Fox News’ Hannity, Homan said: ‘Me and the Denver mayor, we agree on one thing; he’s willing to go to jail. I’m willing to put him in jail.’
Johnston has argued that the deportation plan is an inhumane solution to the migrant crisis, and described it to CNN this week as ’10-year-old kids being taken out of class in handcuffs.’
It was revealed last week in a new study that Denver has spent a staggering $356 million of taxpayer money on migrants in the city, amid growing resentment from residents who say the migrant crisis has crippled the city.
The figure was revealed by the Common Sense Institute (CSI), finding that Johnston has spent the equivalent of $7,900 per migrant in his city.
Denver’s sanctuary city status has come under scrutiny amid the huge influx of migrants, which the CSI estimates has seen around 45,000 migrants arrive in the Colorado city since December 2022.
Despite Johnston’s insistence that he will stand in the way of deportations, he has already been forced to take drastic measures this year to grapple with the issue, including slashing $30 million in public services and contingency funds from taxpayer coffers.
According to the new CSI study, first reported by Fox News, a significant fraction of the $356 million migrant bill comes from education.
There are over 16,000 migrant children who have been enrolled in Denver’s public school system in the past year alone.
‘The total cost to Denver metro schools related to new migrant students is $228 million annually, which would equate to 1-2% of the total state K-12 education budget for the 2024-25 academic year,’ the study found.
‘Previous CSI reporting estimated the per-student cost of instruction and support in the Denver metro to be $14,100 per year. Assuming this cost across all recent migrant students totals $228 million.’
Johnston has said he anticipates needing to make even more cuts to the city’s budget, with the migrant bill accounting for eight percent of its $4.4 billion budget in 2025.
The CSI study also found the huge migrant bill accounts for healthcare, childcare, transportation and hotel rooms for undocumented immigrants – with healthcare amounting to $49 million in uncompensated care.
This comprised of 16,760 visits to emergency departments since December 2022, all of which was paid for by the taxpayers.
The report also found 34.5% of the total has been spent on facilities including hotels, 29.4% on personnel, 14% on services, and 11% on food.
The crisis has created a public spat between Johnston and Homan, who delivered a three-word message to the Democrat and others like him that try and stand in the way of his deportation plan: ‘Don’t test us.’
Speaking to Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety agents in Eagle Pass, Texas last week, Homan ensured them that Trump’s plan will be moving forward.
‘Let me be clear, there is going to be a mass deportation because we just finished a mass illegal immigration crisis on the border.’
‘It’s a felony to knowingly harbor concealed illegal anti-immigration authorities. The nation wants a safe country,’ Homan added.
In their ongoing war of words, Johnston said he is ‘not afraid’ of going to jail, and has compared his efforts the infamous 1989 Tiananmen Square protest in China.
‘It’s like the Tiananmen Square moment with the rose and the gun, right? You’d have every one of those Highland moms who came out for the migrants. And you do not want to mess with them,’ Johnston said.