In the weeks since President-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping victory, governors and mayors of sanctuary states and cities have voiced their firm opposition to his plans for the mass deportations of illegal immigrants. While they vow to do everything they can to protect the “undocumented” in their cities and states from deportation, most appear to realize there are limits to their authority.
In an interview with local media outlet Denverite last Friday, Michael Johnston, the mayor of Denver, Colorado, took his pledge of protection much further. Not only are we “gonna continue to be a welcoming, open, big-hearted city that’s gonna stand by our values,” he said, but “more than us having DPD stationed at the county line to keep them out, you would have 50,000 Denverites there.“
“It’s like the Tiananmen Square moment with the rose and the gun, right? You’d have every one of those Highland moms who came out for the migrants. And you do not want to mess with them,” Johnston added.
What an extraordinary statement for him to make. The Denver mayor is suggesting the use of force against ICE agents who are carrying out the lawful actions of the U.S. government. How many Denver police officers does Johnston really think would risk their careers or place themselves in legal jeopardy to carry out an unlawful request from their mayor?
Johnston also told Denverite he doubts Trump would actually send federal forces into Colorado. He said, “I do not believe that our governor is going to let them use our [Colorado] National Guard at the state level. Unless they were planning on bringing national guards mobilized from Texas or Alabama to come invade Colorado, I don’t know where they would find the forces to begin to do that.
“And that seems to me like a very, very bad idea from start to finish that no reasonable American would support,” Johnston noted.
Frankly, I don’t think many “reasonable Americans” would support a mayor using his city’s police force to thwart a U.S. president’s order to deport illegals.
Tom Homan, the incoming border czar, has addressed the issue of sanctuary states and cities harboring illegals and flouting immigration law on several occasions since his recent nomination. In comments to Newsmax, he said, “They [mayors and governors] don’t have to help us. But they need to get the hell out of the way because we’re coming. We’re prepared to take action.”
“There’s a statute under Title 8 U.S. Code 1324 that talks about harboring and concealing an illegal alien, knowingly harboring and concealing an illegal alien from ICE. They need to read that statute and become familiar with it. Because if they cross that line, there will be consequences.”
Homan emphasized that the administration will be prioritizing “the worst of the worst first.”
He appealed to sanctuary state and city leaders to, “help us do that. And help yourselves make your communities safer. That’s what you’re supposed to be doing.”
In an appearance on Fox News, Homan was asked what happens to mayors and governors who obstruct ICE? He warned that it’s a felony to harbor illegal aliens.
In addition to running afoul of the law, the government has the power to reduce or strip federal grants to cities and states that refuse to cooperate with ICE.
It may also surprise the mayor to find that most Americans support the mass deportations of illegal immigrants. After nearly four years of an open border, it was a top issue for voters across the political spectrum this year. Might not be a hill to die on.
Are you listening Mayor Johnston?
Elizabeth writes commentary for The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a member of the Editorial Board at The Sixteenth Council, a London think tank. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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