Growing number of migrants offer to clean windshields at Denver intersections
It's a growing safety concern and potential nuisance. Drivers in Denver have started to see a trend of people offering to wash their windshields while stopped at an intersection.
In some cases, people have become insistent, refusing to take no for an answer.
This is also seen a lot in larger cities along the East Coast and it can create quite a hazard.
One Denver resident told CBS News Colorado reporter Ashley Portillo he stopped at a red light recently and a group of migrants attempted to clean his windshield. He said it made him feel unsafe.
Portillo also spoke with one migrant about this who said they're cleaning windshields and selling other items, just so they can survive.
"We don't have a way to get an apartment. What do we do? We have kids," said one migrant.
For a migrant mom and her family, there's no other choice. She's one of the many newly arriving migrants who are not authorized to work in the U.S. and doing anything to make a few dollars.
"That's why we're looking for ways to make money because since we don't have jobs or anything, we start selling things to be able to resolve it," said the migrant.
Jon Ewing with Denver Human Services says he and city staff have also seen the increase in migrants crowding intersections even on a cold day.
"I see them out there working, I see them trying to put together some money to take care of themselves or take care of their families. It's a tough sight to see because we know that's not sustainable," said Ewing. "On one hand, we respect it, we understand it, we know that's going to happen regardless."
But on the other hand, Ewing said it's also a safety concern for everyone.
"We worry about them being exploited. Obviously, we worry about traffic and safety and everything along those lines," said Ewing. "That's why we've always said we want to see expanded work authorization and we want the ability for these people to be able to find jobs and get paid regularly and we know that they want to work."
Meanwhile, Ewing also said many migrants don't realize they can't legally work in the U.S. until they get here.
He added that Denver Human Services will continue to work with migrants who are authorized to work, by hosting legal clinics to help migrants submit their work applications. Clinics are already scheduled throughout February.
As for drivers in Denver, while more migrants arrive, expect to see continued efforts from them to make money.
"We want to give them the fighting chance to do that, but we're limited with what we can do," said Ewing.
The Denver Police Department is also aware of the situation.
In a statement, the department said that this can result in a citation and people could face charges like soliciting or aggressive panhandling. But their goal isn't to cite the migrants. The department is working on communicating with migrants about safety concerns.
