Denver motel owner housing and feeding migrants for free as long as she can

Yong Prince wakes up early every morning to make breakfast for the hundreds of people staying in her packed Denver motel. But this motel is unique — the rooms are free and the guests are all migrants, mainly from Venezuela.

The motel is closed to the typical paying customer, but there are still no vacancies. Residents told CBS News there are sometimes eight people per room. Sometimes a dozen, and during the busiest times, more than 25 people per room.

Carlos, a 25-year-old migrant, lives in a room with more than a dozen other people, including his wife. He has worked occasionally as a roofer, but when he can't find work he washes windshields for tips.

"I'd rather work hard outside," he told CBS News in Spanish, noting that with his cleaning tools, "I can at least make money." 

As in Chicago and New York, the influx of migrants is straining Denver's resources. The Mile High City expects to spend $180 million in 2024 on migrants, forcing city officials to make tough decisions on cuts in other areas.

"We will start to have to greenlight a set of hard decisions about budget reductions," Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said.

Prince has received some help and donations, but she said she's spent more than $300,000 of her own money since October. The 73-year-old daughter of North Korean immigrants, whose husband and son both recently died, said she feels helping these asylum seekers is her mission.

It's a mission that's also helping her get over the loss of her son.

But time is running out. Prince sold the property, and everyone has to leave by the end of the week. She said she'd like to lease another property though, and help the migrants as long as she can.

In:
• Immigration

Omar Villafranca

Omar Villafranca is a CBS News correspondent based in Dallas.

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