Colorado District 1 GOP Expresses Disappointment with Mayor Mike Johnston’s Evasive Testimony Before U.S. House Oversight Committee
DENVER, CO – The Colorado District 1 Republican Party is deeply disappointed with the evasive answers provided by Denver Mayor Mike Johnston during his testimony before the U.S. House Oversight Committee on March 5, 2025. We were especially dismayed by the Mayor’s failure to acknowledge the full extent of the immense financial burden of the immigration crisis on Denver, including an estimated $256 million spent by Denver Public Schools to educate more than 16,000 migrant children since 2022—a figure detailed in a recent New York Times report citing a Common Sense Institute (CSI) study.
According to the New York Post (Dec. 1, 2024), Denver has spent approximately $356 million—8% of its 2025 budget—on supporting roughly 45,000 migrants since 2022, equating to nearly $7,900 per migrant. This includes $49 million for healthcare and the staggering $256 million for Denver Public Schools, costs that have forced the city to slash services like recreation centers and tap into contingency funds. Yet, during his testimony, Mayor Johnston avoided directly addressing these figures or the broader impact of his sanctuary city policies, offering instead vague responses that fail to reflect the reality Coloradans are living with daily.
The Colorado District 1 GOP finds it unacceptable that the Mayor dodged accountability for a crisis that has strained schools, overwhelmed hospitals, and contributed to rising crime.
We stand with the majority of Americans who voted to prioritize our nation’s resources for its citizens, not to fund policies that draw tens of thousands of migrants at an unsustainable cost. The Colorado District 1 GOP calls on Mayor Johnston to stop evading responsibility and provide a complete, transparent accounting of the immigration crisis’s toll on Denver. Our constituents deserve leadership that puts Colorado first, not platitudes that ignore his decision’s $356 million price tag.
