Denver Mayor Mike Johnston on Thursday issued an executive order directing city police to intervene during clashes involving federal immigration officers, saying that local law enforcement has a duty to protect people’s civil rights and provide aid to the city’s residents.
Johnston’s order also requires local police to identify and record U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents using body cameras when “tactically safe,” and confirms the Denver Police Department will investigate criminal allegations made against ICE agents.
“We seek not to provoke but to protect,” Johnston said in a news release. “In a time of great fear, we are reminding Denverites that there are still those you can trust and lines you can’t cross.”
Johnston’s order can be read both as reassurance to local residents, and as a warning shot to ICE itself. It comes in the wake of a monthslong surge of immigration enforcement in Minnesota, an operation that led to chaotic standoffs between ICE and local residents, shuttered schools and businesses and culminated in thousands of arrests — including of some U.S. citizens.
Two citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were also killed by federal agents in separate incidents.
The order represents an escalation of the city’s defiance of federal immigration enforcement under the Trump administration — in contrast to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who has taken a hands-off approach.
“Our law enforcement and legal teams will stand up for civil liberties, and, if necessary, step in to protect the life and safety of our residents,” Johnston added. “This is our city, and we will defend the rights of every person in it.”
The executive order calls on local police to de-escalate clashes between immigration officers and protesters. It also says they have a duty to intervene when force is used by federal agents that “could cause death or serious bodily injury,” and requires officers to provide life-saving aid.
Local investigations of ICE agents would be referred to the Denver district attorney or Colorado attorney general for potential prosecution, the order says.
“People in our community have rights, regardless of where they were born,” City Attorney Miko Brown said in a press release. “Denver will continue fighting to protect these rights, uphold the Constitution, and guard against federal overreach.”
In Minnesota, state and local officials criticized ICE’s tactics during the surge, which ended earlier this month. But the justice system struggled to restrain the agency’s operations. At one point, a Minnesota judge said federal officials had violated more than 100 court orders.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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