Starting in the summer of last year, the Texas governor, Greg Abbot, began sending buses full of migrants to Democratic-led cities, including Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Denver.
Since then, nearly 30,000 migrants have shown up in buses around Denver. Many are children and single parents. Some made the trip alone, others with family members.
Former Denver Mayor Michael Hancock declared a state of emergency last year, calling on local governments to unite and provide resources for the migrants.
So far, Denver has spent more than $35 million on facilities, personnel, and other resources.
Even so, thousands remain unhoused, living in encampments around Denver.
In the span of three months, Roxana Maguiñia has crossed nine countries. She began in Peru.
"Ecuador, Colombia, la selva del Darién, Panama, no? Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico," she said, recounting her journey.
Maguiñia is one of over 30,000 migrants that have landed in Denver in the past year.
Many are fleeing from their native country's dictatorships or economic troubles.
Denver has received the most migrants per capita over any other city in the country that doesn't touch the southern border. With the influx of arrivals, migrant shelters are filling up to capacity and close to 200 migrants are living in encampments on the streets of Denver.
Maguiñia says she was simply looking for a better life for her 8-year-old son and 18-year-old daughter.
“I was alone with just my kids,” she said speaking through a translator.
“There was no husband. Mexico was very hard for us.”
Maguiñia, along with her children, traveled to the U.S. on La Bestia, or The Beast, a freight train that runs from Mexico to the U.S., avoiding the U.S. immigration checkpoints.
Migrants travel on top of moving carts.
It's an extremely dangerous way to travel, with some people losing limbs and others reaching their deaths. Many face violence and sexual assault during their voyages.
But, after three months of excruciating travel, Maguiñia and her family made it to Denver, and now live in the encampments.
Maguiña's 8-year-old son, Hendrix, said he feels good to be in Denver after the intense months of traveling.
"Está bien," he said.
Another woman who wished to remain anonymous, says she's grateful to have escaped her native country of Venezuela, but witnessing her children suffer has dulled the joy.
“It's traumatic,” she said through a translator.
“It hasn't been easy. I have three kids, three below 18. We left everything because in our country, the economy is harsh and we want to give our kids a better quality of life.”
Although she endured trauma and extreme conditions, the woman says she, along with her three children, takes it day by day. She says home is Denver now.
Many migrants, regardless of their native country, say even being out on the street in tents is better than living a restricted life in their country.
Although, when arriving in Denver, the migrants face frigid temperatures that some have never experienced before.
One man who is living in the encampment with his partner, says the cold and jobs are the hardest part of arriving in Denver.
“El frio. El trabajo,” he said.
The couple who also wish to remain anonymous, left Venezuela due to the dictatorship. They say that in the eight days they've been here, they've searched for a job daily.
“We still haven't found a job, but we have searched. And it may be because of the winter season that it's been difficult,” the woman said through a translator.
If they can't find a job within the next few weeks, they plan on moving on to a different state in hopes of better luck.
“We're going to go somewhere else to see if we can find a job,” she said. “We can't just stay in one place.”
Regardless of the climate or the lack of jobs, many migrants remain hopeful and have found community as more migrants arrive daily in the city.
“It hasn't been easy,” said the woman. “But it's never impossible. You always start somewhere, from zero.”
Copyright 2023 KGNU.
This story was shared via Rocky Mountain Community Radio, a network of public media stations in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico including Aspen Public Radio.