Denver officials said Friday the city started flying immigrants to Utah after Texas officials bused the newcomers to Denver.
Why it matters: A firestorm broke out Thursday in Utah after a report by KUTV that Denver paid for the flights that brought immigrants to Salt Lake City in late May.
- Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Friday lambasted Denver’s actions as “completely unacceptable,” writing on X that the state’s “resources are completely depleted.”
What they’re saying: “The vast majority of newcomers arriving in Denver do so on buses chartered from Texas and had no intention of ever coming to Denver,” Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s spokesperson, Jordan Fuja, told Axios.
- “That’s why part of our operations include purchasing tickets for newcomers to get to their desired location.”
By the numbers: Denver bought 59 tickets for immigrants to fly to SLC in the past 30 days, Denver Human Services spokesperson Jon Ewing confirmed to Axios.
- Ewing told KUTV that the city had paid for about 2,000 people’s travel here since 2022.
Catch up quick: Texas officials have been busing immigrants to other cities since 2022, focusing on Denver, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
- Denver and other cities, in turn, have been sending them on to other destinations.
The intrigue: Fuja said Denver was sending people to places “where they may have support networks or job opportunities.”…