The suburbs around the Denver area are weighing filing a lawsuit against the sanctuary city over the massive uptick in immigrant arrivals that has brought with it an increase in gang activity.
The Castle Rock Town Council recently passed a motion this month instructing the town’s attorney to consider a lawsuit against Denver. The city’s sanctuary policies have allowed more than 42,000 immigrants to pour into the area while shielding them from federal immigration officials.
‘We understand that there is a storm coming.’
The motion was put forth by Castle Rock City Council member Max Brooks, who told KCNC-TV, “This isn’t just a decision that Denver gets to make because it’s impacting the rest of the Front Range. So the idea is to join with other municipalities and say it’s time to stop.”
“Our town attorney’s office has already had conversations with the county attorney with Douglas County, already had conversations with the city of Aurora, and also had conversations with the city of Parker,” Brooks stated, indicating that other municipalities have expressed interest in joining a potential lawsuit.
According to KCNC, Parker and Aurora are also weighing joining the lawsuit.
“I don’t want a dime from Denver, I just don’t want them to continue to have a policy that is having a negative impact on the Front Range,” he continued. “You don’t wait until the hurricane is on you to board up your windows and leave town. We understand that there is a storm coming.”
Brooks noted that the increase of immigrants arriving in Douglas County has led to “instances of crime.”
“This isn’t about labeling and saying the migrants need to be deported. It’s not about that. It’s about stopping and making sure we’re not bringing in any more when obviously Denver is not able to handle what’s already happened,” he added.
Some parts of Aurora have recently been rocked by an increased presence of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, with reports that the violent group has taken over several apartment complexes.
Aurora City Council member Danielle Jurinsky has blamed the gang’s activity on Denver’s sanctuary policies.
“In the entire Denver metro area, it has been like pulling teeth to get anyone, the media, other elected officials, to get anyone to acknowledge the presence of this trend and to acknowledge that there is even a problem,” Jurinsky previously told Fox News Digital.
However, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) has claimed that the TDA’s invasion of some apartment complexes is largely a figment of Jurinksy’s “imagination.”
Earlier this year, several counties filed a lawsuit against Denver, claiming its policies “create dangerous conditions” for Colorado residents and immigrants, Blaze News previously reported. Douglas, El Paso, Elbert, Garfield, Mesa, and Rio Blanco Counties all joined that complaint.
Douglas County Undersheriff Dave Walcher stated at the time, “The mission of all of us is to keep this county safe that is my job to keep Douglas County residents safe and what we’ve seen over the last several years dating back to 2019 in one of the bills that was discussed is the fact that it limits our ability to work with ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement].”
Cited in the complaint are Colorado House 19-1124 and 23-1100, which the counties called “illegal and unconstitutional” for undermining federal immigration laws and regulations.
The legislation prohibits state law enforcement agents from sharing information regarding illegal immigrants with federal immigration officials.
District 2 Commissioner George Teal previously told KNUS, “We have a laundry list of counties and municipalities across the state who are just aching to join us on this,” referring to the lawsuit.
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