By Ari Hoffman and Jonathan Choe – The Postmillennial
The city of Denver funneled federal COVID funds through area non-profits to house thousands of illegal immigrants in shelters, according to a new report. Many illegal immigrants have ended up at the troubled Edge at Lowry and Whispering Pines Apartments in Aurora, Colorado.
Critics say these buildings have turned into human dumping grounds and magnets for crime, attracting ruthless Venezuelan gang members and are quickly becoming a blight on the community.
The team behind a joint investigation with Frontlines Turning Point USA and the Manhattan Institute’s Logos Initiative spoke to a former employee of CBZ Management, the company responsible for maintaining the properties who remained anonymous out of fear of retaliation.
According to the whistleblower, several years ago, Denver awarded federal COVID dollars to house thousands of illegal immigrants in shelters and motels, then turned to Papagayo and Vive Wellness for help.
In 2021, when the Biden–Harris administration signed the American Rescue Plan Act into law, $3.8 billion was allocated to Colorado. According to documents obtained by the team, local non-profits were awarded nearly $19 million in taxpayer funds, housed over 8,000 illegal immigrants in the Denver metro area, and locked in approximately 2000 leases.
Despite the CEOs of the organization touting their accomplishments, the groups never asked the city of Aurora if they could come in.
The whistleblower also claimed that the CEOs assured property managers that the illegal immigrants had stable jobs and incomes. Problematic situations have turned into evictions because tenants could not pay their rent. Sometimes the situations turned violent, apartment owners were beaten and never got paid.
Additionally, the investigation revealed that CEOs Yoli Casas and Marielena Suarez, two Venezuelan immigrants, had virtually no experience housing individuals in need. There was also a lack of transparency in how COVID funds were spent and a public records request revealed that officials had no oversight over the agencies.
Since 2022, over 43,000 illegal immigrants have landed in the Mile High City, mostly from Venezuela, costing taxpayers an estimated $70 million.
Officials in nearby Castle Rock are reportedly preparing to collaborate with other cities to sue Denver to protect their communities from suffering a similar fate.