Red City Stands Up to Big Blue Neighbor in Immigration Struggle: ‘Denver Doesn’t Speak for All of Colorado’
Castle Rock, Colo. – President-elect Donald Trump’s promised crackdown on illegal immigration has widened the divide between deep-blue Denver and its conservative neighbors, including the city of Castle Rock, which has vowed to support Trump’s upcoming immigration policies.
“Denver doesn’t speak for all of Colorado, and Denver certainly doesn’t speak for Douglas County,” Colorado House of Representatives and newly sworn-in Rep. Max Brooks told Fox News Digital on Inauguration Day.
The City Council unanimously passed Brooks’ measure last month, expressing “strong support for President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to solve this nation’s growing immigration crisis by mass deportation of unauthorized immigrants.”
The measure also stated that Castle Rock is willing to “cooperate with federal immigration authorities” in this effort.
Castle Rock is a populous city in Douglas County, Colorado, south of Denver. Officials in the conservative region say it has adversely affected the state’s defacto sanctuary status. (Alba Cubas-Fantauzy/Fox News Digital)
A Colorado town near Denver described an unholy situation as it grappled with immigrants.
Brooks said the move is a direct response to actions in Denver, where Mayor Mike Johnston suggested in November that the city’s police may be deployed to resist federal immigration authorities. Johnston later walked back that statement.
The Mile High City welcomed nearly 43,000 immigrants between December 2022 and last summer, according to city data. The new arrivals came as President Biden took executive action to stem the flow of immigrants at the southern border, and Denver closed its last refugee shelter in early October, citing a lack of demand.
“You can’t bring (43,000) people to Denver and think they’re going to stay within the walls of Denver,” Brooks said. “They spread across the frontline, which makes this a problem for Colorado.”
Some local residents told Fox News Digital that their neighbors to the north don’t see the illegal immigrants personally affected, but Brooks says there are still signs. On Thursday, he pointed to the Douglas County Jail, which holds 369 inmates, 15% of whom are non-U.S. citizens.
Crews from the City and County of Denver are preparing to move people to shelters or housing on January 3, 2024. The city has seen an influx of around 43,000 migrants since December 2022, although the peak has slowed in recent months. (Hyung Chang/The Denver Post)
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A Castle Rock resident who says he immigrated legally from Brazil has a hard time judging people who entered the U.S. illegally.
“It’s very difficult because they’re running away from poverty, violence, crime or whatever they’re running away from,” he said. “For them to take that step in their life and be in a very vulnerable position, it must be very bad out there.”
But Catherine, who said she legally immigrated to Colorado from Columbia two years ago after a nine-year process, said it’s “important to be strict” with border enforcement.
“If you don’t control the laws, maybe in the future (in the future) your country will be the same (as our countries),” she said.
Catherine said she came to Colorado two years ago after a nine-year process. He expressed hope that the government would make it easier for people to immigrate legally, but America must protect its borders. (Alba Cubas-Fantauzy/Fox News Digital)
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Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, has long pushed back on the idea that Colorado is a “sanctuary state,” but Brooks said cities like Castle Rock are “severely harmed” by state laws that say police can’t work with immigration officials.
“The words have nothing to do with the action,” Brooks said. “We want cops to be cops. We want cops to do their jobs.”
Recently, Police said. He welcomes help from the federal government to remove criminals and gang members, but faces a battle to “go after law-abiding Coloradans who have lived here for 20 or 30 years.”
Douglas County previously sued the state over its sanctuary policies, but a district court dismissed the suit last month. Brooks said municipalities are taking new legal action, but are waiting to see how the situation changes after Trump takes office.
“We know we’re going to secure the southern border. So we know Denver is not going to go as far as they want, we know they’re going to continue to bring illegal immigrants here.”
