As cities across the United States grapple with how to deal with the influx of immigrants from the southern border, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston believes that his city can help immigrants succeed if they have the “capacity to work.”
Johnston, who was in Washington, D.C., for the United States Conference of Mayors conference, called work authorization for immigrants “critical.”
“What’s critical for us is that folks that arrive, arrive with work authorization because we know everyone wants to work,” Johnston told the Washington Examiner. “They want to support themselves. They don’t need to be on the taxpayer dime. If folks arrive in our city with the capacity to work, then we can help them succeed.”
The Denver mayor’s statement comes ahead of a meeting President Joe Biden is having with mayors from across the country at the White House on Friday. While Johnston will not be in attendance, his position on immigration underscores problems cities across the U.S. have dealt with regarding illegal immigration.
And despite Johnston’s relatively optimistic outlook, Biden’s approval rating on immigration is 32.3%, making it his lowest-rated issue and 5 points lower than his overall approval rating.
Biden is expected to push his investing in America agenda during the meeting, but it is unclear if the influx of immigrants at the southern border will come up. However, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas did bring up the issue when he spoke with mayors in attendance at the conference on Thursday, showing that the border crisis is on the minds of top Biden officials.
Mayorkas, who did not attend a Republican-led impeachment hearing against him Thursday, instead attended the conference, where he claimed that political division is fueling the migrant crisis.
“You know that no government can operate effectively in a silo,” Mayorkas said. “And you know that when we shun collaboration and reject coordination, and when we treat each other as adversaries, not allies, the harmful results speak for themselves. Nowhere is this more evident than in our efforts to tackle the significant challenges at our southern border, where the level of migrant encounters is high.”
The White House has often pointed the finger back at Republicans when it comes to the millions of illegal crossings that have taken place since 2021, saying Biden proposed a bill on his first day in office that Republicans have ignored.
The mayors, who are in Washington, D.C., for the United States Conference of Mayors conference, are dealing with the high level of migrant encounters in a direct way, with some of them having pleaded with the Biden administration to take action.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has at times criticized the administration while actively discouraging migrants from traveling to the Big Apple. The Biden administration has also had spats to varying degrees with the mayors of Washington and Chicago.
Mayors of some smaller cities haven’t felt the issue acutely yet. Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade, a legal immigrant originally from Nigeria, says he’s working with his counterparts in Denver and Aurora and is concerned about the well-being of residents in his city.
“I became a U.S. citizen six years ago, and I’ve had the blessing of the American dream and the opportunity to serve this land that I love so much,” Mobolade told the Washington Examiner. “But we haven’t had that challenge in my city.”
House Republicans have held two impeachment hearings against Mayorkas for his handling of the southern border and are potentially voting for impeachment proceedings within the next few weeks.
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“[Mayorkas] has consistently, willfully, and systemically refused to follow the laws passed by Congress, abused his authority, and breached the trust of Congress and the American people on numerous occasions,” read a statement from Republicans on the Homeland Security committee. “The result of his failure to fulfill his oath of office has been a border crisis that is unprecedented in American history—a crisis that has cost the lives of thousands of Secretary Mayorkas’ fellow Americans.”
Mayorkas has not appeared at the two impeachment hearings held so far, though he has until 10 days following Thursday’s hearing to submit written testimony. The Department of Homeland Security says he’s appeared before Congress 27 times already, more than any other Biden Cabinet official.