The Trump administration has added Colorado and the capital, Denver, to its list of states and municipalities that the administration has called for it to overturn illegal sanctuary laws and policies.
The lawsuit filed last week states that states and cities are trespassing federal constitutional superiority provisions by obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
Centennial and Mile High City are the sixth and seventh jurisdictions targeted by the U.S. Department of Justice. In February, DOJ sued New York and New York City, Illinois, Chicago and surrounding Cook Counties. At the time, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi warned that the illegal Arien Reserve had better lawyers.
Shortly after President Donald Trump shellaced former Vice President Kamala Harris on November 5, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston firmly said that if he attempts to implement Trump's plans for a massive resignation, he will incite a rebellion and rebellion against federal authorities.
Litigation
The 24-page lawsuit alleges that three state laws, city ordinances and “intention and design obstruct and discriminate against the enforcement of federal immigration laws by the federal government.”
That is because “federal immigration laws “explicitly preempt state and local laws restricting citizenship or immigrant status, legal or illegal, or sharing information about individuals.”
Similarly, these state and local laws and policies are “oppression” to federal immigration law enforcement. Certainly, they dislike the lawsuit, saying that it was “enacted for the sole purpose of imposing immigration laws and hindering the federal government's ability to eliminate illegal aliens.”
The lawsuit cites Douglas County Commissioner Kevin Winkle, and points out that the state's “community” is suffering under policy. “We have made oaths to protect public safety, but these laws prevent us from doing so,” Winkle said. Similarly, he said, “These laws require the concealment of those who commit crimes and illegally are here. That's a serious public safety issue.”
County Commissioner George Thiel said: “Douglas County is not a sanctuary county. We want to work with the federal government on the issue of illegal immigration to keep our communities safe.”
But state law prohibits that.
Law #1
HB 19-1124, the first bill cited in the lawsuit, states that Colorado law enforcement officials must not “arrest, block or detain an individual based on a request for a civil immigration blocking device.”
Similarly, the bill requires a federal warrant against law enforcement to help enforce immigration laws, the lawsuit alleges.
The bill also “imposes strict information and access restrictions on federal immigration authorities,” the lawsuit states. “(a) No probation officer or probation officer provides personal information about the individual to federal immigration authorities.”
The bill interferes with federal authorities who want to interview prisoners, hate lawsuits.
Law #2
Another law, Senate Bill 21-131, “prohibits the use of “sharing” “personal identification information” that includes information available through a database or automated network.
Similarly, the bill prohibits state employees from requesting information about a “person's immigration status” with the aim of identifying whether a person has complied with federal immigration laws. The lawsuit explains.
Law #3
The third bill, HB 23-1100, blocks law enforcement from contracting immigration detention contracts with the federal government.
The City of Denver Code, the lawsuit continues, prohibiting the use of city money and resources to help enforce immigration laws. It also prohibits employees from “supporting or cooperating with official capabilities in investigations, detention or arrest proceedings regarding alleged violations of federal immigration law civil clauses.”
The code prohibits law enforcement from initiating “law enforcement agencies only contact us for the purpose of determining an individual's hometown, immigration or citizenship status, or for the purpose of arresting or detaining an individual based on an individual's immigration or citizenship status.”
Denver law prevents federal immigration officials from entering prison to enforce immigration laws.
And even if prison inmates have a final deportation order, the city cannot respect federal detainees.
The executive order openly prohibits city employees from any cooperation in enforcing the Civil Immigration Act. Working with federal agents is a crime of dismissal.
Hegemony clause
The three-count lawsuit then details countless ways states and cities can prevent the enforcement of US immigration laws. Next, we explain why laws and policies must be overturned. They invade hegemony clauses in three ways: “In contrast to the supreme laws of land, they are either the constitution or the law of the state.”
They are “an obstacles to the achievement and implementation of the full purpose and objectives of the Congress.” They violate the clause because they discriminate against the federal government in preventing federal immigration agents from enforcing the law. They are illegally regulating the federal government.
On his side, Johnston, who vowed to surround the city with police and 50,000 Debites if immigrants and customs enforcement agents attempt to enter the city, told Axios Denver that “there is no law that Denver has broken.”
As state and city laws and policies show, the claims are false.
H/T: Legal Rebellion
