US sues to kill Colorado ‘sanctuary’ laws protecting immigrants
Amanda Pampuro
DENVER (CN) — The U.S. Department of Justice sued the state of Colorado in federal court on Friday, challenging a suite of “sanctuary” laws passed in the wake of Donald Trump's first term to provide protections to immigrants.
“These sanctuary policies have tied the hands of law enforcement, emboldened dangerous criminals and left Colorado’s communities vulnerable,” U.S. attorneys claim in the 25-page complaint.
Videos of masked men with guns storming an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado, went viral last year, jumping from TikTok to then-candidate Trump’s campaign platform. At a convention center on the eastern edge of the city’s borders in October 2024, Trump unveiled “Operation Aurora,” vowing to use his presidency to ramp up deportations of immigrants, particularly those believed to belong to drug cartels and international gangs like Tren de Aragua.
Trump stoked and used fears of Venezuelan gangs infiltrating the U.S. to justify deploying the Alien Enemy Act in efforts to deport immigrants without due process. Under Trump, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began detaining immigrants outspoken against the nation’s immigration system and Israel's siege on Gaza.
To insulate themselves from politically driven changes in federal immigration priorities, several states, including Colorado, passed so-called sanctuary laws in recent years, vowing to protect local residents from immigration authorities.
One such law was signed by Democratic Governor Jared Polis in 2019, HB19-1114, an act to "Protect Colorado Residents From Federal Government Overreach," effectively preventing local law enforcement from carrying out arrests on behalf of ICE.
Arguing “the challenged laws impede the operation of the federal immigration laws," the Department of Justice is also targeting immigrant protections enacted in Chicago and San Francisco.
Besides depriving ICE of aid from local law enforcement and preventing the federal government from accessing immigrants’ personal information held in state databases, U.S. attorneys say Colorado’s refusal to house immigrants in local jails means ICE can only hold detainees in one facility, located in Aurora, despite the state spanning 104,000 square miles with unpredictable weather impacting travel throughout the year.
“This is a suit to put an end to those disastrous policies and restore the supremacy of federal immigration law," U.S. attorneys argue in the complaint.
In addition to the Federal Government Overreach law, U.S. attorneys targeted SB21-131, "Protect Personal Identifying Information Kept By State," and HB23-1100, "Restrict Government Involvement in Immigration Detention."
In April 2024, several conservative counties sued the state over two of these laws, arguing their local sheriffs wanted to help curb illegal immigration and support ICE. After a Denver judge dismissed, the counties petitioned the Colorado Court of Appeals to hear them out.
Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado have also taken on several cases enforcing protections for immigrants, from a landlord accused of using immigration status to intimidate tenants who fell behind on rent to supporting a class action to ensure individuals slated for deportation under the Alien Enemies Act are given due process and informed of their right to appeal.
Friday’s lawsuit also lists Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and the Mile High City's council as defendants for supporting municipal-level limits on local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration officers.
Citing three violations of the supremacy clause, the U.S. Department of Justice asks the court to declare the Colorado sanctuary laws invalid and to enjoin the state from enforcing them.
A spokesperson for Governor Polis' office told Courthouse News, "Colorado is not a sanctuary state."
"The state of Colorado works with local, state and federal law enforcement regularly and we value our partnerships with local, county and federal law enforcement agencies to make Colorado safer. If the courts say that any Colorado law is not valid then we will follow the ruling," Deputy Press Secretary Eric Maruyama told Courthouse News over email.
Colorado law requires state and local law enforcement to report release of inmates to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security who have been charged with a violent crime or were previously convicted of a felony.
The case has been assigned to Magistrate Judge Kathryn Starnella, who joined the bench in 2023.