May 3, 2025 minute read

Trump’s Department of Justice has brought suit against Colorado and Denver over their “sanctuary city” policies that direct local law enforcement not to work with federal immigration enforcement officials to deport criminal illegal immigrations.

The case, filed on Friday in the US District Court, names Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, AG Phil Weiser, Denver’s Mayor Mike Johnston, local Sheriff Elias Diggins, the entire Denver City Council, as well as the state and city specifically.

“This is a suit to put an end to those disastrous policies and restore the supremacy of federal immigration law,” reads the suit. Polis denied that the state is a sanctuary state at all, though city officials said, “Denver will not be bullied or blackmailed, least of all by an administration that has little regard for the law and even less for the truth.”

“The state of Colorado works with local, state and federal law enforcement regularly, and we value our partnerships with local, county and federal law enforcement agencies to make Colorado safer. If the courts say that any Colorado law is not valid then we will follow the ruling,” said Colorado spokesperson Eric Maruyama in a statement.

This comes after border czar Tom Homan, who has a 40-year career in border control, has said that the administration would go after local officials who prevent local law enforcement from working with ICE and seek to harbor those with federal deportation detainers from being found and removed by federal officers.

Colorado enacted a measure in 2023 that “prohibits law enforcement from keeping people in jail on immigration detainers,” as well as another one from 2021 “that bars state employees from sharing people’s personal information with federal immigration officials,” reports The Denver Post.

Colorado made national headlines in 2024 when it was revealed that Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had taken over apartment buildings in Aurora, Colorado. A viral video began circulating that showed armed gang members going door to door in the apartment complex. 

The incident gained national attention, with JD Vance speaking to ABC News’ Martha Raddatz about the apartment complex takeover. Raddatz said the reports of the apartment complex takeover were untrue, and Vance took her to task over that. Raddatz downplayed the problem, saying it was “only a handful” of apartment complexes that were taken over by gangs.

“Do you hear yourself?” Vance asked Raddatz. “Only a handful of apartment complexes in America were taken over by Venezuelan gangs, and Donald Trump is the problem and not Kamala Harris’ open border?” The complexes were later shut down by law enforcement.