Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have arrived at the United States border in the last two years, part of a historic wave of migrants headed north amid growing global crises. But Venezuela has been in the midst of an economic and humanitarian crisis for roughly a decade.

Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have arrived at the United States border in the last two years, part of a historic wave of migrants headed north amid growing global crises. But Venezuela has been in the midst of an economic and humanitarian crisis for roughly a decade. America, its economy buoyed by profits from vast oil reserves — the largest proven reserves in the world — that supported celebrated universities, a respected public health system and a flourishing middle class.

But the economy crashed in the mid-2010s amid mismanagement of the oil sector by an authoritarian government claiming socialist ideals, now led by President Nicolás Maduro. Tough sanctions imposed by the United States in 2019 have exacerbated the situation. For years Venezuelans have been scraping by, trying to feed their children on meager salaries, watching family members die of preventable diseases, waiting for hours in line for gasoline so they can take a trip to the hospital or the market.

I need to get to work
Henry, 57, who spoke on the condition his last name is not used because he was a lawyer in Venezuela and fears political retribution, was one of the people at the Zuni campsite who started sleeping outside after he reached the time limit at his last shelter. His wife and kids immigrated from Venezuela first and ended up in Nebraska, but he’s trying to find work in Denver so he can bring them here to join him.

Denver is asking the federal government for help with a massive influx of migrants

The city of Denver has been facing what it calls a migrant crisis for more than a year. Now, as The Colorado Sun reports, the city is asking the federal government for extra help.

Editor Lance Benzel with The Colorado Sun told KUNC members of the state’s congressional delegation are getting involved in efforts to secure more funding.

“Colorado’s two senators and five Democratic U.S. representatives are demanding that the federal government step up and help…put roofs over the heads of these migrants,” Benzel said. This request comes as the number of migrants staying in the city keeps rising. Nearly 36,000 migrants have arrived in the past year. In December (2023) alone, 144 buses dropped off migrants in the city at the pace of about 100 to 200 people per day,” Benzel said. “Denver Mayor Mike Johnston says that the city has received more migrants per capita than any other city in the country.” So how are all those migrants being housed right now?

Benzel said Denver has already spent $34 million setting up emergency shelters, including renting rooms in hotels throughout the city. The Colorado Sun reports the number of migrants staying in hotels and sleeping on sidewalks surpassed 4,400 in the first week of 2024, the highest it’s been in the past year.

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Six questions for … Denver Mayor Mike Johnston: We sat down with Johnston on Thursday while he was in Washington for the U.S. Conference of Mayor’s winter meeting and to push for legislation to help Denver deal with the more than 37,000 migrants who have arrived in the city since December, severely straining the city’s resources.

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