WASHINGTON, DC- The House Judiciary Committee has tired of Colorado’s sanctuary policies, particularly those of Denver and Boulder, and on Wednesday issued a series of demands, including an investigation into the Boulder Police Department’s refusal to allow federal immigration authorities to search the city’s Flock license plate camera data, NBC News 9 reported.
All told, the Committee sent six letters to law enforcement agencies and district attorneys in Denver and Boulder, demanding their communications with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and internal records related to their immigration policies. The communication was signed by committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. Gabe Evans (R-CO).
One letter, sent to Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn, called the agency to task for deactivating the national lookup feature on its Flock database last June. That, the letter alleged, prevented federal agencies from utilizing the department’s plate tracking data. The committee is demanding all records related to that decision, and all communications about sharing such data with federal agencies dating back to 2024, the outlet reported.
Flock cameras have been widely used nationwide by police agencies and are designed to capture passing vehicles and record plate numbers into a searchable database. Law enforcement agencies have praised the technology and credit the system with solving numerous crimes, such as auto theft.
Despite the success of the cameras, they also have their detractors, primarily civil libertarians and liberals who are concerned that they can be used to hunt down illegal aliens and track individuals seeking reproductive and gender-affirming care, which is absurd.
Evans, despite not being a member of the House Judiciary Committee, has been critical of Denver and the state’s sanctuary policies.
“[Denver Mayor Mike Johnston] won’t actually do what he’s supposed to do and allow his officers to work in conjunction with federal authorities to get criminals out of the community who are here illegally,” Evans told Colorado Public Radio.
Some of those who received the demand letters were not happy about it.
“We were disappointed to receive a Congressional letter today that was riddled with inaccuracies,” said Matt Jablow, spokesperson for the Denver District Attorney’s Office, who claims the office is “committed to protecting the safety of all the people of the City & County of Denver and acts on that commitment every single day.”
Meanwhile, Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty, a Democratic candidate for Colorado Attorney General, claimed the letter was “political theater.”
“Local district attorneys do not write federal immigration law. Congress does,” Dougherty said in a statement. “If Washington politicians are serious about immigration enforcement and public safety, they should focus on fixing the broken federal system instead of attacking Colorado prosecutors who are doing the real work of protecting communities.”
That “protecting communities” seemed to have failed when the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua took over the Whispering Pines Apartments in Aurora, Colorado in 2023, with the gang being involved in “violent assaults, threats of murder, extortion, strongarm tactics, and child prostitution,” according to CBS News.
The Judiciary Committee’s remaining letters focused on ICE detainer policies. Both Denver and Boulder limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, which aligns with a Colorado state law that restricts local agencies from honoring civil immigration detainers without a judicial warrant. Denver claims that it notifies ICE of upcoming releases and allegedly cooperates on criminal warrants.
In a letter sent to Denver Sheriff Elias Diggins, it refers to the February 2025 release of Abraham Gonzalez, a suspected Tren de Aragua gang member, citing that as an example of the dangers of failing to honor detainers. The letter slammed the sheriff’s department for refusing to honor ICE detainers. A copy of the letter may be found here.
The Judiciary Committee is also slamming the DA’s offices over policies directing prosecutors to consider potential immigration consequences when making charging and pleas decisions.
Dougherty said in a press release that those policies are in place to prevent defendants from being deported before cases can be resolved, claiming that would deny victims a chance to see a case through to completion.
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