Bus companies carrying immigrants from Denver that make unscheduled stops in Douglas County, Colorado, could face hefty fines or have their vehicles seized, according to a new emergency ban passed Tuesday. 

The measure, greenlighted in just 30 minutes by Douglas County commissioners, comes as Denver, a self-described sanctuary city, has been stretched thin of resources to help the 40,000 immigrants who have come to the city over the past 15 months lacking basic needs, such as food, water, and shelter. 

Denver initially welcomed the newcomers with open arms but has since admitted that caring for them has contributed to a $120 million budget deficit, strained city resources, and tested the kindness of businesses and residents, some of whom have been asked to open up their homes to strangers to help offset the costs.  

City officials recently told immigrants staying in a shelter that the opportunities for them have dried up in Denver and said the city would pay for 20,000 one-way bus tickets to anywhere else. The offer immediately raised concerns in neighboring suburbs, cities, and towns that have far fewer resources than Denver.

“We have a lot of concerned residents here on this,” Douglas County Commissioner George Teal said. “It has reached a boiling point.”

Douglas County commissioners passed a resolution late last year saying the county would not be a “sheltering solution” for Denver’s problems.

Already, Aurora and El Paso County have warned Denver not to send immigrants their way. In Lakewood, a suburb about 15 minutes from Denver, just the idea of immigrants flooding in prompted hundreds of people to gather at an office park near the Colorado Mills shopping center in February and vent. 

“We do not want to be Denver,” former Councilwoman Mary Janssen said at the gathering. “I live in Lakewood. When did we decide to give away our immigration laws?”

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Tuesday’s meeting in Douglas County was a preventive measure. No buses carrying immigrants have stopped there, and officials said they want to keep it that way. Any bus caught trying to offload passengers at unscheduled stops will face a $1,000 fine per passenger. In some cases, sheriffs could seize control of the bus as a “public nuisance.” 

“We want to be very proactive and make sure that these bus companies don’t think we’ll just bring them to Douglas County because we have no shelters in Douglas County,” Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas said, adding there are “no funds” to cover housing or medical treatment.