The Denver Gazette reports that a congressional panel is reviewing Denver and Boulder policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan sent letters to district attorneys, sheriffs, and police chiefs in both cities, accusing them of undermining public safety and blocking efficient federal immigration enforcement. Rep. Tom McClintock also signed the letters, and Rep. Gabe Evans signed onto the letters directed at Denver officials.
The article says Denver and Boulder are among the sanctuary jurisdictions with policies limiting local law enforcement cooperation with ICE, while Colorado law also restricts cooperation with federal immigration authorities, with exemptions for criminal investigations. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s February executive order further bars city agencies from sharing databases or technology agreements with the Department of Homeland Security unless there is a subpoena, judicial warrant, court order, or other legal requirement. Because nothing screams “public safety” like making sure the bad guys get a concierge-grade bureaucratic buffer.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Congress is asking Denver and Boulder to explain their ICE cooperation limits. Good. When local leaders turn law enforcement into a progressive scavenger hunt, eventually somebody needs to ask who hid the map.
- Jordan accused the cities’ officials of giving “preferential treatment” to people in the country illegally. That is the sentence Denver and Boulder’s ruling class would rather swallow a live porcupine than discuss honestly.
- The article says Colorado law prohibits local law enforcement from holding someone solely on a federal immigration detainer. ICE says those detainers can ask local agencies to hold someone up to 48 hours so federal officers can assume custody. Colorado’s answer appears to be: we would love to help, but our ideology is already booked.
- The Gazette revisits the Abraham Gonzales case, where Denver gave ICE about an hour’s notice before releasing him from jail. According to the article, he was released outside the jail, saw federal agents, ran, and had to be chased down. That is not a system. That is a slapstick routine with public-safety consequences.
- The House Judiciary Committee wants documents, including communications with ICE, prosecution records involving noncitizens, the number of declined ICE detainers, training materials, and immigration-enforcement communications. In plain English: send the receipts. Bureaucrats hate receipts. They prefer vibes.
My Bottom Line
Good. That is about all I can say. Good.
Normal Coloradans have been forced to live inside the policy experiment created by the state’s ruling elite Democrats. Crime, homelessness, open-air disorder, and sanctuary politics were not acts of nature. They were choices. They came dressed up as compassion, equity, justice, and every other bumper-sticker word that sounds noble right before it makes your neighborhood worse.
And because Colorado is trapped under iron-fisted one-party control, there is very little relief. The same people who lit the match keep giving lectures on fire safety. The same political class that created the mess now wants applause for managing the mess poorly, loudly, and with a grant-funded task force.
So yes, when the federal government starts asking questions, plenty of everyday Coloradans welcome it. Not because Washington is some gleaming temple of common sense. Let’s not get carried away. But because somebody, somewhere, has to throw a rope into this pit and ask why Denver and Boulder keep making it harder to remove people who should not be here and who are accused of committing crimes.
Local control matters. But local control is not a suicide pact with bad policy. If Denver and Boulder want sanctuary status, they can enjoy sanctuary scrutiny. Actions meet consequences. It is a relationship long overdue.
Source: The Denver Gazette
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