DENVER, CO – Earlier in February, Denver’s Democratic mayor signed an executive order outlining a series of protections for protesters and agitators who may amass during Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations or enforcement actions within the city, including a directive for local authorities to “detain” ICE officers accused of excessive force.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston signed a controversial executive order on February 26th bearing the dubbed subject line, “Executive Order to Protect Denverites from Unconstitutional and Dangerous Federal Operations,” which explicitly decries federal immigration enforcement as spreading “fear” and tearing “families apart” while attempting to exert authority over ICE operations within the city.
“Our responsibility is clear,” the executive order reads in part, further adding, “we will work to protect the people who call Denver home and guard against federal overreach. This means setting firm boundaries on how immigration enforcement operates within Denver, safeguarding public spaces, and ensuring accountability when those boundaries are crossed.”
While some of the language pertaining to local law enforcement conducting investigations into allegations of criminal conduct committed by ICE agents is vague, most notably terms like “arrest” and “detain” being absent from the signed order, Mayor Johnston’s order does mention local authorities are to “make referrals of felony matters to the Denver District Attorney or Colorado Attorney General.”
However, such ambiguity was set aside during a press conference pertaining to the signed order, as Mayor Johnston told reporters, “If we see any ICE officer using excessive force against a Denver resident, we will step in to detain that officer and remove them from the situation. We hold our own officers to that standard, and we will hold any ICE agent to the same.”
Much of Mayor Johnston’s order mirrors in direction, and spirit, a similar set of directives issued by Seattle, Washington, Mayor Katie Wilson this past January. As previously reported in Law Enforcement Today, such directives, if carried out, could result in a legal/jurisdictional fiasco pitting federal and local authorities at odds.
Although Mayor Johnston’s executive order utilizes legal jargon where it explicitly mentions, “nothing in this Executive Order shall be interpreted to require or permit obstruction of federal immigration enforcement, or to violate the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause,” if local authorities in Denver attempt to detain federal immigration officials actively carrying out their duties over perceived “excessive force,” those detaining officers could face federal charges.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston signed a controversial executive order on February 26th bearing the dubbed subject line, “Executive Order to Protect Denverites from Unconstitutional and Dangerous Federal Operations,” which explicitly decries federal immigration enforcement as spreading “fear” and tearing “families apart” while attempting to exert authority over ICE operations within the city.
“Our responsibility is clear,” the executive order reads in part, further adding, “we will work to protect the people who call Denver home and guard against federal overreach. This means setting firm boundaries on how immigration enforcement operates within Denver, safeguarding public spaces, and ensuring accountability when those boundaries are crossed.”
While some of the language pertaining to local law enforcement conducting investigations into allegations of criminal conduct committed by ICE agents is vague, most notably terms like “arrest” and “detain” being absent from the signed order, Mayor Johnston’s order does mention local authorities are to “make referrals of felony matters to the Denver District Attorney or Colorado Attorney General.”
However, such ambiguity was set aside during a press conference pertaining to the signed order, as Mayor Johnston told reporters, “If we see any ICE officer using excessive force against a Denver resident, we will step in to detain that officer and remove them from the situation. We hold our own officers to that standard, and we will hold any ICE agent to the same.”
Much of Mayor Johnston’s order mirrors in direction, and spirit, a similar set of directives issued by Seattle, Washington, Mayor Katie Wilson this past January. As previously reported in Law Enforcement Today, such directives, if carried out, could result in a legal/jurisdictional fiasco pitting federal and local authorities at odds.
Although Mayor Johnston’s executive order utilizes legal jargon where it explicitly mentions, “nothing in this Executive Order shall be interpreted to require or permit obstruction of federal immigration enforcement, or to violate the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause,” if local authorities in Denver attempt to detain federal immigration officials actively carrying out their duties over perceived “excessive force,” those detaining officers could face federal charges.
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