Aurora City Council approves measure to investigate nonprofits helping migrants

Aurora City Council has approved a measure to investigate nonprofits that help migrants. It comes as councilwoman at large Danielle Jurinsky claims Denver’s mayor and the governor of Colorado conspired to move migrants into Aurora.
“I believe that Governor Polis and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston conspired to sneak potentially thousands of migrants into our city, using several nonprofits in the metro, that ultimately put the safety of our citizens at risk,” said Jurinsky in a statement.
In a 6-2 vote Monday night, Aurora lawmakers approved the measure to investigate if Jurinsky’s claim is true.
“We’ve heard about the non-profits that received all of this funding… American taxpayer dollars to move these people here. The people of Aurora have a right to know how this happened, how much money went towards it, what the state’s involvement was, what the city of Denver’s involvement was,” Jurinsky said during the meeting.
Among the two opponents is Councilwoman Alison Coombs, “It’s going to target and scapegoat migrants and migrant-serving organizations instead of looking at the real issues that we’re facing as a nation.”
CBS Colorado’s Kelly Werthmann spoke with the executive directors of three local nonprofits that help migrants with housing in Colorado. All three said the investigation is disappointing and the claims behind it are untrue.
“We never receive direction from any municipality about where people are going to live,” said Amanda Blaurock, co-founder and executive director of Village Exchange Center.
“They get to choose where they live,” Yoli Casas, co-founder and executive director of ViVe Wellness, said of migrants or any person they help. “[They choose based on] where their friends are, where their families are, where the kids are going to school, where their jobs are.”
And, that includes the troublesome apartments that have gained national attention for international gang violence and mismanagement.
“I believe there is a lack of information and understanding of the process, and what we have done in the communities,” explained Marielena Suarez, executive director of Papagayo. “Once again, we cannot tell a person, ‘You cannot go to this place,’ or, ‘You need to go to this place.'”
The approved measure means Aurora’s city manager will create a list of nonprofits that have received money to help migrants. Then, the council will look at how that money was used.
“There are some nonprofits that placed people in Aurora, and they did it in an irresponsible manner,” Councilman Steve Sundberg said during Monday’s meeting.
Nonprofit leaders say Aurora’s resolution unfairly targets the work they do – across Colorado – and it will do more harm than good.
“I think the heart of being a nonprofit is staying nonpartisan in service. It’s not fair to pull nonprofits into what is clearly a partisan issue,” said Blaurock. “It really jeopardizes the safety and security of the communities that we all serve by putting us all in the spotlight, at it puts a target on all of our backs.”
“Leave our nonprofits alone,” added Casas. “Let us do our work.”
CBS Colorado also reached out to Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s office for comment on Jurinsky’s claim. A spokesperson provided this statement: Denver took what many saw as a crisis and turned it into opportunity by partnering with nonprofits to help thousands of newcomers find stability, contribute to our economy, and have the opportunity to chase the American dream. Had we turned our back, there is little doubt that many of the 43,000 people who arrived in Denver over the last two years would today be sleeping on the streets rather than in their own beds. We stand proudly with our immigrant community and with our nonprofit partners, whose dedication and life-saving work should be applauded, not demonized.