A slate of Colorado jurisdictions are considering or actively pursuing a lawsuit over sanctuary policies that they argue have invited illegal migrant crime into their communities.
The town council of Castle Rock, Colorado, voted unanimously earlier this month to explore the possibility of suing Denver over its sanctuary city policies, according to CBS Colorado. The Denver suburbs of Aurora and Parker are also considering suing the city over its policies regarding immigrants as illegal migrant crime continues to weigh on residents across the state.
Douglas County and El Paso County announced a separate lawsuit in April against the state of Colorado that seeks to strike down two sanctuary laws that largely impede local law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with federal immigration authorities — with Elbert, Garfield, Mesa and Rio Blanco counties joining in on that lawsuit the following month. The lawsuit being waged by the Colorado counties seeks to strike down House Bill 19-1124 and House Bill 23-1100, which were signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, a major proponent of sanctuary city policies in recent years.
Local leaders say residents are fed up with sanctuary policies that they argue are hurting — not helping — their communities tackle crime.
“Everyone is starting to realize that sanctuary cities do not protect citizens. They only protect criminals,” John Fabbricatore, a retired Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office director, stated Monday to the Daily Caller News Foundation. Fabbricatore is now running as a Republican to represent Colorado’s 6th congressional district, which encompasses some of the jurisdictions that are waging or considering a lawsuit over sanctuary city laws.