Town of Monument Mayor says they will not be a sanctuary community for migrants
MONUMENT, Colo. (KRDO) - The Town of Monument is making its stance on migrants in the state loud and clear.
As migrants are starting to have to leave Denver after their 42 days in sanctuary begin to run out, Monument Mayor Mitch LaKind tells KRDO13 they have made a firm decision to not provide aid or resources to migrants.
"It's very possible that buses will show up here, but they're not going to be welcome," said LaKind.
The town council took to drafting a resolution, after El Paso County made their announcement that the county would not provide sanctuary for migrants on January 31.
"The meat of the resolution is to ensure that the taxpayers... we are not going to utilize their dollars for the purposes of providing any form of services or shelter to illegal immigrants," explained LaKind.
It was a topic first discussed on Monday night's town council meeting after a concerned resident brought up the notion of migrants coming to Monument.
LaKind explains that it's a simple matter of not having the budget or resources to take care of any more people, than just their own.
"We're going to reach out to other agencies, we're going to reach out to the County. We may need to reach back out and find out from Denver if they sent them down, and [tell them to] be prepared to receive them back," said LaKind.
The Mayor added that above all other reasons, he and the town council are just listening to their constituents.
"The citizens, they've made it fairly clear. We hear what they have to say, they're on social media, they email us, they call us. They don't want this to be a sanctuary town, so we listen to them. We're not doing it." stated LaKind.
LaKind was also quick to dispel the rumor that Monument had already had two buses with 100 migrants arrive at their local Walmart recently.
He says he alerted the town manager, as well as police, who arrived in minutes, and confirmed with Walmart management that there was no evidence of any large congregation of people who appeared that day.
The resolution will be voted on by the town council on Tuesday, February 20.
