After President Trump announced a since-delayed nationwide crackdown on illegal immigrants, Denver declared it will not work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Yet it isn’t just one city that is lawless: Thanks to a law signed by Gov. Jared Polis, all Colorado law enforcement officers are barred from cooperating with federal officials in removing dangerous illegal immigrants from our country. This violates federal law, puts citizens in danger, and, contrary to the assertion of Democrats, is far from compassionate.
Denver has been a sanctuary city for over 20 years. In 2014, the Department of Homeland Security put Denver in the top 10 jurisdictions that fail to observe “Immigration Detainers” that DHS provides when it learns a “removable alien” is held. The notice “requests” Denver “notify DHS as early as practicable (at least 48 hours if possible) before the alien is released,” so they could take custody. But Denver rejected outright 194 notice requests.
Worse, in 2017, Denver stopped sending DHS its daily booking sheets, which violates a federal law that makes it a felony to “conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, [an] alien in any place, including any building.”
Denver’s approach bore its bitterest fruit on Feb. 7, 2017, with the murder of 32-year-old Tim Cruz. One of the killers was Ever Valles, declared by DHS “an immigration enforcement priority” because he entered the United States illegally, and is a “known gang member” with a “criminal history.” Thus, in October of 2016, when DHS learned of Valles’ arrest for car theft and weapons possession, it asked Denver to be notified of his imminent release. Nonetheless, on Dec. 20, Valles was freed at midnight after Denver faxed DHS a notice at 11:33 p.m. DHS got the fax at 12:37 a.m.
Seven weeks later, Valles killed Cruz.
Despite this tragedy, earlier this year, Democrats, in control of Colorado’s General Assembly, proposed a bill making the Denver ordinance state law, that is, turning Colorado, with California and the state of Washington, into a “sanctuary state.”
Make no mistake, this bill was not about protecting the rights of immigrants. It protects only criminal immigrants subject to deportation because of prior criminal convictions in state courts, or a deportation order from an immigration judge.
The bill eventually passed. Gov. Polis did signal opposition to early versions of the bill and demanded revisions to prevent a veto. But the governor’s demand that the bill not interfere with the flow of federal dollars into Colorado, on which he filed a federal lawsuit, ultimately did not prevent enactment of this foolish law.
Thus, Colorado adopted the position of the American Civil Liberties Union that unless a federal judge or magistrate or state judge issues a court order, assisting ICE violates the constitutional rights of illegal immigrants. In fact, that view is set forth explicitly in the law.
This is the distinction Denver made in 2017 when its release of Valles got a man killed. Fortunately, it has never been upheld by a federal appeals court; to the contrary, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit last year flatly rejected it. That fate awaits the Colorado law, but, for some, that ruling will not come in time.
Therefore, when this law goes into effect on Aug. 2, expect more tragedies like the death of Cruz. This approach to immigration enforcement is hardly compassionate, at least not for the family, friends, and loved ones of Tim Cruz.
William Pendley, an attorney, is author of Sagebrush Rebel: Reagan’s Battle with Environmental Extremists and Why It Matters Today (Regnery, 2013). Follow him @Sagebrush_Rebel.
