DOJ sues Colorado, Denver for so-called ‘sanctuary laws'
The federal government alleges in its lawsuit, filed in Colorado District Court on Friday, that the laws are designed to 'interfere with and discriminate against the Federal Government's enforcement of federal immigration law.'
FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox
The lawsuit specifically mentions the troubled Aurora apartment complexes that went viral after a video showing armed men in a stairwell was first reported on by FOX31's Vicente Arenas. The men in the video were later connected to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang that's been publicized during recent immigration efforts under President Donald Trump.
The lawsuit argues that federal immigration law preempts state law. Colorado has a law that prevents local law enforcement from enforcing federal immigration law, among other things, and it has been decried by many law enforcement advocates and at least three members of U.S. Congress.
'But the Sanctuary Laws were enacted for the sole purpose of impeding the Federal Government's ability to enforce immigration law and remove illegal aliens,' the lawsuit alleges. 'These sanctuary policies have 'tied the hands of law enforcement, emboldened dangerous criminals and left [Colorado's] communities vulnerable.''
The lawsuit specifically names Gov. Jared Polis, Attorney General Phil Weiser, Denver Sheriff Elias Diggins and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston. The mayor's office provided FOX31 with a statement, which said:
'Denver will not be bullied or blackmailed, least of all by an administration that has little regard for the law and even less for the truth. We follow all laws local, state, and federal and stand ready to defend our values.'
Denver Mayor's Office
The Colorado Governor's Office also spoke out against the lawsuit.
The statement was released Friday afternoon to FOX31.
'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. We are not going to comment on the merits of the lawsuit.'
Colorado Governor's Office spokesperson
The laws, as previously reported by FOX31, include:
House Bill 19-1124, 'Protect Colorado Residents From Federal Government Overreach,' according to the text, allows law enforcement to cooperate or assist federal immigration authorities in the execution of a federal warrant, but prohibits law enforcement from arresting or detaining individuals based solely on a civil immigration detainer
The measure also stops probation officers from giving someone's personal information to federal immigration authorities
The measure also ensures that individuals who are to be interviewed via telephone or video by a federal immigration authority are informed of their rights
House Bill 23-1100, 'Restrict Government Involvement in Immigration Detention,' prevents state or local government agency employees from entering into intergovernmental agreements allowing for law enforcement to rent bed space to ICE
The measure also terminated two such agreements in the state
The lawsuit alleges that the Denver statutes and Colorado laws are impeding federal immigration operations. Last weekend, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents joined local law enforcement in a raid of a Colorado Springs nightclub. Federal officials said they detained over 100 people and alleged that many were undocumented immigrants.
The lawsuit notes that one of Colorado's laws prohibits state and local governments from being involved in immigration detention. The lawsuit says that currently, the ICE immigration detention center in Aurora is the only location where ICE can detain individuals within Colorado.
'Because ICE's Denver Field Office covers the entire states of Colorado and Wyoming, and the federal government can no longer temporarily house detainees in county detention facilities, immigration officers are forced to travel long distances, even at late hours and in poor weather conditions, to transport people to the Aurora facility,' the lawsuit states. '(F)ederal immigration authorities have to release individuals that it otherwise would detain or alternatively incur significant transport expenses that it would not have incurred prior to CRS 24-76.7-103.'
The complaint also says that Colorado's laws 'impede DHS's ability to readily obtain from local law enforcement the release date' of undocumented immigrants that DHS believes are removable from the U.S.
The lawsuit says that because of this, federal immigration officers are forced to 'engage in difficult and dangerous efforts to re-arrest' or 'determine that it is not appropriate to transfer' an undocumented immigrant to local custody in order to enforce immigration law.
The DOJ is seeking a judgment that says Colorado and Denver's provisions violate the Supremacy Clause, which states 'the activities of the Federal Government are free from regulation by any state.'
This is a developing story and will be updated as new information is obtained.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump, Carney to speak soon, Canadian official says
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will likely talk "over the next number of days" after the U.S. imposed a 35% tariff on goods not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, a Canadian official said on Sunday. Dominic LeBlanc, the federal cabinet minister in charge of U.S.-Canada trade, told CBS News' "Face the Nation" that he believes there is an option of striking a deal that will bring down tariffs. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
19 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US trade advisor says Trump tariff rates unlikely to change
New US tariff rates are "pretty much set" with little immediate room for negotiation, Donald Trump's trade advisor said in remarks aired Sunday, also defending the president's politically driven levies against Brazil. Trump, who has wielded tariffs as a tool of American economic might, has set tariff rates for dozens of economies including the European Union at between 10 and 41 percent come August 7, his new hard deadline for the duties. In a pre-taped interview broadcast Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation," US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said "the coming days" are not likely to see changes in the tariff rates. "A lot of these are set rates pursuant to deals. Some of these deals are announced, some are not, others depend on the level of the trade deficit or surplus we may have with the country," Greer said. "These tariff rates are pretty much set." Undoubtedly some trade ministers "want to talk more and see how they can work in a different way with the United States," he added. But "we're seeing truly the contours of the president's tariff plan right now with these rates." Last Thursday, the former real estate developer announced hiked tariff rates on dozens of US trade partners. They will kick in on August 7 instead of August 1, which had previously been touted as a hard deadline. Among the countries facing steep new levies is Brazil. South America's largest economy is being hit with 50 percent tariffs on exports to the United States -- albeit with significant exemptions for key products such as aircraft and orange juice. Trump has openly admitted he is punishing Brazil for prosecuting his political ally Jair Bolsonaro, the ex-president accused of plotting a coup in a bid to cling to power. The US president has described the case as a "witch hunt." Greer said it was not unusual for Trump to use tariff tools for geopolitical purposes. "The president has seen in Brazil, like he's seen in other countries, a misuse of law, a misuse of democracy," Greer told CBS. "It is normal to use these tools for geopolitical issues." Trump was "elected to assess the foreign affairs situation... and take appropriate action," he added. Meanwhile White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett said that while talks are expected to continue over the next week with some US trade partners, he concurred with Greer's tariffs assessment in that the bulk of the rates "are more or less locked in." Asked by the host of NBC's Sunday talk show "Meet the Press with Kristen Welker" if Trump could change tariff rates should financial markets react negatively, Hassett said: "I would rule it out, because these are the final deals." Legal challenges have been filed against some of Trump's tariffs arguing he overstepped his authority. An appeals court panel on Thursday appeared skeptical of the government's arguments, though the case may be ultimately decided at the Supreme Court. mlm/des
American Press
20 minutes ago
- American Press
Things to know about the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and its funding cuts
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps pay for PBS, NPR, 1,500 local radio and television stations as well as programs like 'Sesame Street' and 'Finding Your Roots,' said Friday that it would close after the U.S. government withdrew funding. The organization told employees that most staff positions will end with the fiscal year on Sept. 30. A small transition team will stay until January to finish any remaining work. The private, nonprofit corporation was founded in 1968 shortly after Congress authorized its formation. It now ends nearly six decades of fueling the production of renowned educational programming, cultural content and emergency alerts about natural disasters. Here's what to know: Losing funding President Donald Trump signed a bill on July 24 canceling about $1.1 billion that had been approved for public broadcasting. The White House says the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense, and conservatives have particularly directed their ire at NPR and PBS. Lawmakers with large rural constituencies voiced concern about what the cuts could mean for some local public stations in their state. They warned some stations will have to close. The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday reinforced the policy change by excluding funding for the corporation for the first time in more than 50 years as part of a broader spending bill. How it began Congress passed legislation creating the body in 1967, several years after then-Federal Communications Commission Chairman Newton Minow described commercial television a 'vast wasteland' and called for programming in the public interest. The corporation doesn't produce programming and it doesn't own, operate or control any public broadcasting stations. The corporation, PBS, NPR are independent of each other as are local public television and radio stations. Rural stations hit hard Roughly 70% of the corporation's money went directly to 330 PBS and 246 NPR stations across the country. The cuts are expected to weigh most heavily on smaller public media outlets away from big cities, and it's likely some won't survive. NPR's president estimated as many as 80 NPR stations may close in the next year. Mississippi Public Broadcasting has already decided to eliminate a streaming channel that airs children's programming like 'Caillou' and 'Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood' 24 hours a day. Maine's public media system is looking at a hit of $2.5 million, or about 12% of its budget, for the next fiscal year. The state's rural residents rely heavily on public media for weather updates and disaster alerts. In Kodiak, Alaska, KMXT estimated the cuts would slice 22% from its budget. Public radio stations in the sprawling, heavily rural state often provide not just news but alerts about natural disasters like tsunamis, landslides and volcanic eruptions. From Big Bird to war documentaries The first episode of 'Sesame Street' aired in 1969. Child viewers, adults and guest stars alike were instantly hooked. Over the decades, characters from Big Bird to Cookie Monster and Elmo have become household favorites Entertainer Carol Burnett appeared on that inaugural episode. She told The Associated Press she was a big fan. 'I would have done anything they wanted me to do,' she said. 'I loved being exposed to all that goodness and humor.' Sesame Street said in May it would also get some help from a Netflix streaming deal. Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. started 'Finding Your Roots' in 2006 under the title 'African American Lives.' He invited prominent Black celebrities and traced their family trees into slavery. When the paper trail ran out, they would use DNA to see which ethnic group they were from in Africa. Challenged by a viewer to open the show to non-Black celebrities, Gates agreed and the series was renamed 'Faces of America,' which had to be changed again after the name was taken. The show is PBS's most-watched program on linear TV and the most-streamed non-drama program. Season 10 reached nearly 18 million people across linear and digital platforms and also received its first Emmy nomination.
