Fearing that buses of migrant people bound for Denver will stop in Douglas County, commissioners gave the green light to a law to limit the unloading of bus passengers.
Even though officials have acknowledged that they aren’t aware of any migrants being dropped off in the county, elected leaders unanimously approved an ordinance barring drivers from unloading passengers in “unplanned locations.” The rule applies to large swaths of the county south of Denver, including heavily populated Highlands Ranch.
Douglas officials framed the proposed policy as safeguarding the “community’s overall well-being.” The draft text of the proposed law states that any “unplanned” unboarding of passengers “creates a danger situation for the unloaded commercial passengers, and is detrimental to the health, safety, and welfare of the community.”
The Douglas County News-Press is not aware of any reports of mass numbers of migrants being dropped off in the county.
Before voting to approve the law in the 3-0 vote, Commissioner George Teal said: “There will come a time when we need this ordinance, and it might be sooner than later.”
Teal worried that Denver would start diverting buses carrying migrants from Texas to Colorado’s capital city to neighboring communities.
“I can’t help but think it’s only a matter of time,” Teal said.
Asked by the News-Press about that fear, Jon Ewing, a city spokesperson, said Denver has not diverted buses of migrants to Douglas County.
“We haven’t and we won’t,” Ewing said.
The county’s move comes as the number of migrant people who have come to or through Denver has topped 40,000, though Denver says it hasn’t sent any migrants to be sheltered in the county. Denver is also contending with budget cuts, after spending millions of dollars to aid and temporarily house migrants.
What new law would do
The new law does not mention migrants or any other groups, only mentioning “commercial passengers.”
It prohibits commercial passenger vehicles from stopping in unincorporated parts of the county to unload passengers other than at a “planned and scheduled documented destination.”
“Unincorporated” parts of the county are outside of cities and towns.
The new law applies to any vehicle where payment is involved for transportation, including buses, vans and trucks.
It does not include vehicles rented or leased by the driver, vehicles operated by the Regional Transportation District, or RTD, or any government body of the State of Colorado, ride-sharing services, or taxi cabs.
Douglas County officials have no record of any migrant or migrants being dropped off anywhere across the county by commercial buses, trucks or vans since December 2022, county staff said in late March.
The county’s three commissioners, all Republicans, voted in favor of the new ordinance on a preliminary vote, or first reading.
They also voted unanimously on a second and final vote April 2 to enact the ordinance, which took effect immediately, according to the county.
Some migrants came to Douglas
Asked whether any organization that Denver works with sent any migrants to be sheltered in Douglas County, Ewing said: “Still can’t speak for nonprofits, but not to my knowledge.”
Yet, Douglas County says a small number of migrants have sought its services.
Fewer than 20 migrants sought services — primarily shelter — during the weeks of Feb. 26 and March 4, according to county staff.
A county spokesperson said some of the people told the county they were from Venezuela, but others came from other countries.
No dedicated shelters for the unhoused exist in Douglas County, aside from shelter space for domestic-violence survivors, a county spokesperson said.
But the county works to provide shelter through partnerships with churches and municipalities — including Aurora and Colorado Springs — and by providing motel or hotel vouchers, the spokesperson said.
“Migrants appear to be utilizing personal transportation or public transportation available to them to travel to Douglas County,” county staff said in a statement in late March.
‘Plight’ of migrant people
Before voting on the ordinance, Commissioner Abe Laydon noted his own Latino heritage and said: “I do take the plight of people seeking asylum seriously.”
He has said he’s worked with other leaders in the Denver area on the issue of work authorization for certain migrants “so if people are looking for work,” they can find it legally.
Ultimately, that’s a federal issue, according to Jeff Garcia, county attorney.
Influx of migrant people slowed
Overall, the rate of new migrants coming to Denver each day has decreased over the past few months, though it recently ticked up slightly.
“Up until mid-January we were seeing on average 200 people a day. Today that number is between 20 or 30,” Ewing wrote in a March 12 email. He added: “In February we received 7 buses total … Still, there’s no comparison to December, when we received 144.”
Asked what the daily number of new migrants coming to Denver is now, Ewing said on April 2: “Around 50 now. Higher, but still nothing like December and early January.”