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Migrant family details journey to arrive in Denver

Migrant family details journey to arrive in Denver
Posted at 7:06 PM, Dec 07, 2022
and last updated 2022-12-08 07:45:07-05

DENVER — Wednesday morning, a Denver-based nonprofit said a migrant family arrived at its doorstep seeking resources. The family's arrival comes just days after around 100 other migrants arrived in the city.

Community Outreach Service Center, a nonprofit in Denver's Five Points neighborhood, said it first encountered the family wandering through the area on foot.

"They were looking for resources," case manager LaShawn Dixon said.

Denver7 spoke to the family who arrived at the nonprofit. The mother and father said they came from Venezuela with their five children. Denver7 has translated the family's interview from Spanish to English.

"We cannot go back. We want President Biden to give us the opportunity like the United States gave its first immigrants," the mother said. "We want the opportunity of a good job, a good future and I make a plea to the government with tears in my eyes that I want to go forward with my five children."

Uncertainty is something the family is used to. The mother said she feared her family would be harmed if they returned to their home country.

"If we don't vote for him (President Nicolás Maduro), he takes things from us," the mother said. "If we aren't for what he says, the government will harass us."

The family's patriarch said they'd spent two days in El Paso, Texas at a shelter before being asked to leave by the shelter's director.

Denver7 contacted the Texas Governor's Office who said, "Can confirm our office is still only sending buses to Chicago, DC, Philadelphia, and New York City."

Inquiries to the Florida Governor's Office haven't been answered.

Before the family stayed in El Paso, they had a dangerous journey across the Rio Grande River.

"Of course we are afraid but we get so close to the border, we feel our future is in reach here in the state that we risk our lives and that of our children as we try to find happiness and a better future for us all," the mother said through tears.

Denver7 investigates has confirmed twenty additional migrants arrived in Denver on Wednesday. It's unclear whether this family arrived with the same cohort.