Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock said his city is nearing a breaking point after spending roughly $2 million in response to the influx of immigrants who have traveled from South and Central America since the beginning of the month.

The mayor blamed the unfolding crisis in Denver on the nation’s broken immigration system that has cities taking “the brunt” of the failures. He called on Congress and the White House to provide “bold, interim steps today and a long-term strategy.”

Hancock added: “Our finances are at the brink and as mayor and as members of city council, as agency leaders, we’ve got to be honest and say we can’t do anymore. We have come to that point.”

This critical moment in the city’s response to the influx of immigrants comes as the city braces for life-threatening cold from an arctic blast moving across the state starting Wednesday evening.

Hancock, whose office organized a press conference to address the frigid temperatures and the steady stream of immigrants coming to Denver, said officials are “simply trying to do the best that we can.”

“It’s a balancing act,” he said. “We have finite resources.”

While staffing accounts for most of the city’s expenditures, the costs also include housing, food and transportation.

The city opened its first emergency shelter Dec. 6 and second one last week. Since then, more than 1,300 immigrants have arrived to the Mile High City, mostly from El Paso, Texas.

The number of immigrants arriving daily has added to the city’s burden sheltering homeless people during the cold snap. That homeless population grew by roughly 30% with the addition of the immigrants, said Britta Fisher, chief housing officer for the Department of Housing Stability.

Signs at city bus stops have been directing immigrants to local shelters, officials said. However, the Denver Gazette on Wednesday searched and found no such signs at the bus terminals at Union Station, where 90 migrants were dropped earlier this month, triggering the city’s response.

Daria Serna, a spokeswoman for the city and county of Denver, said the flyers were placed at Spanish-speaking bus stops such as Los Paisanos Autobuses. The Denver Gazette saw no evidence of signs at the station, 2147 Broadway, as of 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Not all of the arriving immigrants have Denver as their final destination.

An estimated 50% to 60% of them plan to move on, said Mimi Scheuermann, chief operating officer of Denver Human Services. But that assessment comes with an important caveat: It’s difficult to track and plans often change.

Officials have opened the Denver Coliseum, 4600 Humboldt St., to house the flood of arriving immigrants as the mercury is expected to plunge to sub-zero temperatures Wednesday, the first official day of winter.

The coliseum, which will accommodate 225 people, is also open to residents and the homeless.