The Trump administration has informed Denver, Colorado, officials it no longer will pay the sanctuary city roughly $24 million in grant money expected to cover migrant shelter costs.
Denver's Department of Finance said Monday that the city received notice of the administration's decision in a letter on April 1.
"The [Department of Homeland Security], consistent with President [Donald] Trump's direction, is focused on advancing the essential mission of enforcing immigration laws and securing the border," read the letter obtained by The Denver Post.
Denver Budget Director Justin Sykes told city council members that the Finance Department hasn't included canceled or possibly canceled federal grant dollars in the upcoming 2026 city budget.
Under then-President Joe Biden, the Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded Denver $32 million. Only $8 million has been sent to the city so far.
The Post reported it was unclear whether federal officials will require Denver to return the money so far received.
Denver provided temporary shelter to migrants beginning in late 2022, including many sent by Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. The sanctuary city closed the shelters last year.
It was reported early this month that the administration canceled $188 million in federal grants meant to reimburse New York City for sheltering migrants, saying the money was being spent to support illegal immigration and leading the city's mayor to vow to fight the clawback.
On Monday, Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., introduced a bill that would give Trump the authority to pull federal funding from cities that refuse to cooperate with immigration authorities.
On Thursday, a federal judge in California barred the administration from denying or conditioning the use of federal funds to "sanctuary" jurisdictions that have declined to cooperate with Trump's hard-line immigration crackdown, saying that portions of his executive orders on the matter were unconstitutional.
Those jurisdictions include the cities of Minneapolis, Minnesota; New Haven, Connecticut; Portland, Oregon; St. Paul, Minnesota; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Seattle, Washington. They argue that the administration is seeking to punish them for exercising their rights to limit the use of their resources for federal civil immigration enforcement.
Early last month, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston was one of four sanctuary city mayors who testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform about how they have refused to cooperate with the federal immigration enforcement.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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