A Democrat mayor has made $8million in budget cuts for the police department as part of a sweeping to deal with a rise in migrant arrivals.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston announced last week a package of $45.9m to fully fund programs for "newcomers" for 2024.
Spending on migrants in the Colorado city skyrocketed last year from $2m a month in August to $15m in December.
According to official figures, migrant numbers peaked in January at around 5,000 in shelters but have since dropped to around 1,000.
Denver mayor Mike Johnston announced last week a package of $45.9m to fully fund programs for "newcomers" for 2024
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The mayor’s office says it will avoid layoffs or furloughs of employees, but there will still be cuts to find the extra $45.9m in funding. The mayor's office will see its budget cut by nearly 10 per cent.
Johnston said: "After more than a year of facing this crisis together, Denver finally has a sustainable plan for treating our newcomers with dignity while avoiding the worst cuts to city services."
A spokesperson for Johnston has denied describing the cuts as "defunding" the police and said there will be 167 new police recruits added to the force in 2024.
The spokesperson also said the 1.9 per cent cut is less than the average of 2.5 per cent cuts to all city agencies and that the cuts will have no impact on public services and result in no officers being taken off the streets.
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The city says it has helped more than 40,000 migrants in 16 months, the most per capita of any city in the country, at a cost of more than $68m.
A spokesperson from the Mayor's office told Fox News: "The City of Denver's adjustment to the Denver Police Department's budget was carefully crafted with safety leaders and Mayor Johnston to ensure there would be no impact to the department's public services. And no officers will be taken off the streets
"To say that Denver is 'defunding the police' is a willful mischaracterisation of the budget adjustments, which actually just delays the purchase of new furniture and shifts the funding source for one cadet class.
"In fact, Mayor Johnston has invested millions to add 167 new police recruits to our force in 2024 and will continue to invest in public safety to ensure every Denverite is safe in their city."
While migrant arrests at the US-Mexico border have been steady in recent months, the figures remain higher than under previous administrations.
Republican candidate in the Senate race in neighbouring Arizona, former television newscaster Kari Lake blasted Biden's approach to border security as record numbers of migrants have been caught crossing the border illegally during his presidency.
