Denver has outlined its immigration response as President Donald Trump prepares to enact major policy changes, saying it will cooperate when it comes to criminal elements but will fight the White House in court over potential raids at churches and schools.  

The city said it has put together a four-pronged approach to respond to Trump’s immigration policies.

Cooperation on violent criminals

The city said if an undocumented immigrant commits a violent crime, they will be arrested and prosecuted just like any other people. The city said it will comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in criminal immigration enforcement, but not non-criminal immigration operations.

“We’ll abide by the state and local law, and we clearly abide by the federal law, and so that’ll continue to be true,” Mayor Mike Johnston said. “We just won’t do federal law enforcement’s job for them and won’t support their effort to kind of bring terror to communities if they are trying to raid schools or hospitals or churches.”

Assistance to federal law enforcement

The city said Denver Police will not perform ICE actions or support non-criminal immigration enforcement activities. The police will only respond to requests to protect public safety and keep the peace.

“We will partner on violent crimes as we have always done in past,” Johnston said. “(Like with) the last administration, we will do it again. We don’t want criminals of any background on our streets, and that’s been clear for us consistently.”

Legal support   

The city said it strongly opposes immigration enforcement or raids in schools, hospitals and churches. The city said it will protect immigrants seeking asylum or having a Temporary Protected Status. If the Trump administration tries to detain or deport them, the city said it is prepared to provide legal support.

“What we can do is we can take them to court if they do come for those sites,” Johnston said. “We think that is unnecessary, and it just stokes fear in the community. … These are core services for a city. You can’t have a safe city if people don’t trust going to their hospitals. You can’t have a safe city if people don’t believe they can send their kids to school every day. If you can’t trust you can go worship your own God and your own church. And so we think those are fundamental rights that should be protected. If they violate those, we will seek legal action to try to stop that.”

Other services and support 

If the Trump administration intervenes on mixed-status families, the city is preparing services for those children, including:

• Taking custody of the child and working for a placement

• Searching for kin so they can be placed with family

• Notifying their consulate and working across borders to identify solutions

• Ensuring visitation can occur with parents whenever legally possible

• Working with guardians and immigration attorneys to navigate legal processes

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