The drama between state and local authorities and the federal government continues to escalate, and state and local authorities are struggling to keep up with the bullish rhetoric and action from Trump 2.0.
It’s happening on multiple fronts.
Earlier this month, Governor Jared Polis tried to convince everyone that Colorado wasn’t a sanctuary state, and that his administration has always been against migrant crime and for deporting criminals. In other words, he just went out there and gaslit the public.
In an interview with KRDO13 Investigates, Polis claimed, “It’s public information,” Polis said. “So they just give a window of 6 hours and then if ICE wants to get them, they do. This happens every day in Colorado. That’s why this narrative is false, that Colorado is in any way, shape or form a sanctuary state. We are not. There are cities in our state that claim to be sanctuary cities, but the state is absolutely not.”
In response, John Fabbricatore (@JohnE_Fabb), the former ICE Field Director for our region, posted on X, “This is misinformation! Enormous gaslighting! I’ll list the laws in the comments below. @jaredpolis.”
And he did.
In 2013, the “Community And Law Enforcement Trust Act” was signed into law by governor Bill Owens. According to the ACLU, who was advocating for its passage back in 2013:
“Current [2013] law prohibits local governments from enacting any policy that limits or prohibits a local peace officer, official, or employee from communicating or cooperating with federal officials with regard to the immigration status of any person in the state. The law also requires a peace officer who has probable cause to believe an arrestee is not legally present in the United States to report that person to the United States immigration and customs enforcement office. The governing body of each local government is currently required to provide notice to peace officers of the duty to cooperate with state and federal officials with regard to enforcement of state and federal immigration laws and to provide written confirmation that it has done so to the general assembly on an annual basis. The bill repeals these provisions.” — aclu-co.org, position: support.
Fast forward to 2019, and Jared Polis is governor. The “Protect Colorado Residents From Federal Government Overreach” was signed into law by Jared Polis, preventing local law enforcement notification to and cooperation with ICE.
He tells you now that Colorado is not a sanctuary.
In 2020, Jared Polis signed SB20-083, “Prohibit Courthouse Civil Arrest,” which prohibited ICE from entering courthouses to arrest illegal aliens. The following year, 2021, Polis signed several sanctuary-related bills into law:
- SB21-199, “Remove Barriers To Certain Public Opportunities” which provided state benefits to Illegal aliens, with the state estimating 162,000 illegal aliens at the time.
- HB21-1054, “Housing Public Benefit Verification Requirement,” gave illegal migrants housing assistance, creating an “exception to the requirement that an applicant for federal, state, or local public benefits verify lawful presence in the United States.”
- SB21-077, “Remove Lawful Presence Verification Credentialing,” removed all barriers to professional credentials for illegal migrants, eliminating “verification of an individual’s lawful presence in the United States as a requirement for individual credentialing.”
- HB21-1194, “Immigration Legal Defense Fund,” established a defense fund with taxpayer money to defend illegal migrants.
In 2023, he signed HB23-1100, “Restrict Government Involvement In Immigration Detention,” which effectively defunded all immigration-related operations and construction, including stopping Immigration Detention in County Jails.
Jared Polis signed all these bills into law but now claims, “this narrative is false, that Colorado is in any way, shape or form a sanctuary state. We are not.”
In August, as Aurora City Councilwoman Dani Jurinsky was blowing the whistle on the criminal activities of dangerous Venezuelan prison gangs in her city, Polis called his friendly media and claimed the crisis was a fabrication — a “feature” of the council woman’s “imagination.”
From the New York Post in September, “…despite the mountains of evidence, Gov. Jared Polis (D.) is flat-out denying that it’s happening. On Wednesday, his office called the invasion ‘a feature of Danielle Jurinsky’s imagination’ and sneered that Polis ‘really hopes that the city council members in charge stop trashing their own city when they are supposed to keep it safe.’ This is gaslighting at its worst.”
As the ICE operations continue across the front range, Polis’ rhetorical history on this topic is coming back around, and it’s damning.
Colorado is a sanctuary by every metric, and Polis should resign.
Ashe in America is a writer and activist. Find all her work at linktree.com/asheinamerica.
