Is Colorado Springs a Sanctuary City? Follow the Money.

Raise your hand if you knew illegal immigrants have been settling in Colorado Springs. If you raised your hand, you are correct. We’ve been working over the past year to uncover it. As the saying goes, “Follow the money.” That’s just what we did!

We first reported on Colorado Springs’ illegal immigrants in February 2024 when we obtained a voicemail message from Doug Hanson (Colorado Springs Salvation Army) to Mayor Yemi Mobolade. In the voicemail, Hanson alerted the mayor that Denver was busing illegal immigrants to Colorado Springs and displacing local homeless residents from the shelter space. We shared the voicemail with you, and soon after, the mayor criticized our organization in an article published by The Washington Post, labeling us a “right-leaning advocacy group”.

Incidentally, $200,000 of your taxpayer dollars helped fund an update to the Salvation Army facility that housed the bused-in Venezuelan illegal immigrants.

At a recent press conference, Mayor Mobolade denied that Colorado Springs is a sanctuary city. He went on to say, “There was no bus of migrants that arrived…” in the city, contradicting Hanson’s voicemail.

Critics have accused Colorado Springs and El Paso County of not taking in their “fair share” of illegal immigrants. Colorado citizens should not have to put up with this invasion at all, much less have to take on a share of the massive problem. One article claimed Colorado Springs had taken in 24 families while Denver had accepted 40,000 people. That’s a nice piece of fiction.

Illegal Immigrant Funding Background

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, administers support programs for eligible newcomers such as immigrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, certain parolees, and other groups approved by Congress.  You’ll see that just about everyone is eligible to qualify for the programs. For those illegal immigrants who don’t qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Medicaid, the ORR provides Cash and Medical Assistance grants.

In Colorado, these funds were originally administered by the Colorado Refugee Services Program (CRSP), but the program was replaced and renamed in October 2024 as the Office of New Americans, a state-mandated office under the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

Chasing Down Funding Information

We filed our Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request with the Department of Labor and Employment.

We asked the state for:

All grants and funding documentation about financial awards (grants or other) to organizations in El Paso County, CO and Colorado Springs, CO for migrant/newcomer services from 1/1/21-2/5/25,”

We clarified that by “migrant/newcomer” we meant “foreign-born individuals who have been in the U.S. less than a year and who did not enter the US with any legal status, including those seeking asylum.”

What did we find out?

Lutheran Family Services received funding to support illegal immigrants in Colorado Springs. We obtained contracts from 10/1/2019 – 9/30/2024.

Peak Vista Health Community Center received funding for the healthcare of illegal immigrants in Colorado Springs. We obtained contracts from 10/1/2020 – 9/30/2025.

The contracts only specified funding limits – the maximum assistance the state would reimburse the non-profits. The CORA response and the contracts we received didn’t spell out exactly what was spent by Lutheran Family Services and Peak Vista Health in Colorado Springs. We had to search further for that information. That meant another CORA request filed with the state, and more waiting. We’ve finally pinned down the numbers for you.

Lutheran Family Services

Lutheran Family Services (LFS) of the Rocky Mountains has been assisting with refugee resettlement since 1975, according to their website. Offices are located in Colorado Springs, Denver, and two other Colorado cities, as well as in other states, including Montana and New Mexico.

Documents show the State of Colorado authorized nearly $11 million in funding for Lutheran Family Services (LFS) in Colorado Springs between 2021 and 2024. LFS spent about $7.3 million, leaving roughly $3.5 million unspent during that time. Numbers in our chart below show what was spent each year for a 6-year period of time.

State funding for immigrant services in Colorado Springs significantly increased as Colorado’s sanctuary policies and publicity intensified. The table below shows a sharp rise in spending during that period, raising the question: Was the increased funding a sign that the state expected more illegal immigrants into Colorado Springs and a growing need for services?

Each contract covered a wide range of services, including:

• Interpreters
• Administrative and office maintenance costs
• Cell phones
• Conference expenses
• Refugee cash assistance
• Employment incentives for refugees
• Bus passes
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
• Cash and Medical Assistance (CMA)
• Refugee medical screenings
• Employment coaching and health services
• Housing assistance
• Gasoline gift cards
• And more

Many illegal immigrants are eligible for state assistance for up to 12 months. The table below outlines how much was spent each year, the number of individuals served, and the average cost per person that LFS assisted between 2020-2025. 

Fiscal Yr                           Total Reimbursement      # of Individuals    Cost/individual

                                                                                       Assisted

2020                                 $305,178.33                        231                          $1321.11

2021                                 $392,458.91                        323                          $1215.04

2022                                 $1,444,149.75                     827                          $1746.25

2023                                 $2,784655.39                     1375                        $2025.20

2024                                 $2,753,042.13                     1260                        $2184.95

2025 (through 4/1)      $1,168,593.08                     801                          $1458.92

Totals                               $8,848,077.59                     4817                        $1836.84

A recent Gazette article reported that Lutheran Family Services had to lay off staff following cuts to federal funding ordered by the Trump administration. The organization receives an estimated 85–90% of its funding from federal sources. Do you hear the violins playing in the background for this organization? We don’t. If what they provide is what a community truly wants, let the community make donations. Don’t force taxpayers to support something they likely don’t want in their community.

Nonprofits should never receive taxpayer dollars. Period. The practice needs to stop immediately.

Peak Vista Community Health Center

Peak Vista Health Community Centers (PVH) offers a dedicated Refugee Care program in partnership with Lutheran Family Services. According to their website, PVH assists with intake assessments, coordinates interpretation services, and provides initial medical exams and screenings for immigrants and refugees.

State contracts with Peak Vista Health cover a range of services, including administrative expenses, conference costs for staff, laboratory blood draws, x-rays, vitamins, medical exams, and screenings for communicable diseases. Contracts are also provided for the treatment of parasites—a common protocol in refugee health intake procedures. Annual funding levels vary, with actual reimbursement totals outlined in the table below.

Fiscal Year                             Funds Actually Spent by PVH 

2020                                       $20,038.38

2021                                       $37,136.29

2022                                       $222,782.57

2023                                       $359,834.78

2024                                       $384,801.81

2025 through 3/1/25         $184,936.68

Total                                       $1,209,577.51

According to state contracts from 2021 to 2024, Peak Vista, like Lutheran Family Services, spent less than the maximum amount authorized by the state. While the state approved up to $1,507,215 in reimbursements during that period, PVH ultimately used about $1 million, leaving roughly $500,000 in unused funds.

See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil

No one has been keeping track of the total cost spent on the illegal immigrant problem in Colorado Springs. We’ve been told that the numbers are tough to track. If they aren’t tracking the cost, they don’t have to admit there is a problem. It’s all very hush-hush.

There has been no tracking of how much has been spent in total by schools, healthcare services, affordable housing, transportation, jails, and childcare. We were told last spring that there were 500 children enrolled in El Paso County schools. Schooling costs around $10,000 per student per year. If that number is accurate, Colorado Springs taxpayers are paying $5 million a year for educating illegal immigrants.

Denver, meanwhile, has kept close track of what they have spent—about $7,900 per illegal immigrant.

So, tell us again that Colorado Springs isn’t a sanctuary city? The state has funneled over $10 million in federal taxpayer dollars into Colorado Springs through just two nonprofit organizations. How many other ways has the city supported illegal immigrants?

The largest contract amounts have transpired during Mayor Mobolade’s time in office. Has he known what the state was doing—and quietly allowed it to happen? The way the state distributes this funding is shaping the future of Colorado Springs.

Response from the City

We reached out to City of Colorado Springs Public Information Officer Vanessa Zink for comment on behalf of the city. We asked about the influx of funds directed to Colorado Springs for illegal immigrant services through state contracts and shared information about the contracts. Her response? “I suggest you ask the State about State funding.”

Final Thoughts

Colorado Springs recently made national headlines after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on an illegal nightclub. Gang and drug activity are thriving in the city—a shocking reality for those of us who remember what Colorado Springs was like 20+ years ago.

In a recent press conference, Mayor Mobolade gave a safety briefing and touched on the illegal nightclub raid. From that Gazette article, “Mobolade said he was unsure of the status of those individuals, who have not been charged with a state or federal offense, but said it was important for them to have due process”. That doesn’t sound like a tough-on-illegal-immigration mayor.

Reach out to your city council members and Mayor Mobolade. Should your taxpayer dollars be used to support turning Colorado Springs into a sanctuary city? The mayor and city council should be speaking up for us. The state is trampling our city and using our taxpayer dollars to do it. We should expect better from our elected public servants.