Colorado county passes emergency measure to fine, seize buses dropping off migrants

A Colorado county passed an emergency ordinance Tuesday that will allow the sheriff's department to impose fines and seize buses dropping off illegal migrants, KDVR reported.

Douglas County is taking action to preemptively protect itself from an uptick in migrant arrivals over concerns that Denver officials will likely begin busing individuals to surrounding areas.

Denver, a sanctuary city, recently began shuttering a number of public-run migrant shelters as part of a "consolidation" plan that will reportedly save $60 million, Blaze News previously reported. Following the announcement of the closures, Denver officials asked property owners to open up their rental homes to migrant "newcomers" as a longer-term housing solution.

Douglas County Commissioner George Teal told "Fox & Friends" on Thursday that his community has a large Republican population and is not a migrant sanctuary.

"Denver got on the bandwagon of the anti-Trump fad of declaring a sanctuary city early, among Democrat cities across the nation," Teal stated. "We're not a Democrat county. We're a community that is mostly Republican. We were never going to be a sanctuary county."

"We know that it's just a matter of time before Denver starts diverting buses here into Douglas County. We're to the south of Denver — right between Denver and Colorado Springs. And that's why we did this ordinance, so that, when that happens, we're prepared," Teal added.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D) has claimed that all migrants residing in the shelters slated to be closed down will be moved to other accommodations.

"As we've all checked and found out, President Trump isn't the president anymore — at least not yet, again," Teal continued. "Right now it's President Biden, one of their own Democrats. And yet they still continue these policies that they're starting to regret."

Teal declared there would be "no more freeloading," noting that the county's new ordinance would ensure the community's safety. The measure would impose a fine of up to $40,000 on buses dropping off "commercial passengers" in "unplanned locations." Buses may also be seized by local law enforcement if they are deemed a "public nuisance."

County commissioners told KDVR that, so far, bus-loads of migrants have not been dropped off in the area.

Lora Thomas, a county commissioner, told the news outlet, "We want to be very proactive and make sure that these bus companies don't think we'll just bring them to Douglas County because we have no shelters in Douglas County."

The county stated that it plans to contact Texas busing companies to inform them that dropping off migrants in the community is not permitted.

Anything else?

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said on Thursday that he would continue busing migrants out of the state "until we get a new president," the New York Post reported. Abbott's office says more than 17,300 migrants have been bused to Denver since May 18, 2023.

Douglas County passes ban on migrant busesyoutu.be

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