Castle Rock will support “any and all” immigration policies and deportation efforts of President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, including offering assistance to the city’s police department.
During the day Tuesday meetingthe Castle Rock City Council, at the request of the President, unanimously approved a motion by Council Member Max Brooks to express support for the Trump Administration’s planned immigration policy, “including whatever we can do with our law enforcement personnel to stop the deportation of illegal to support migrants”.
Brooks, who was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in November, pledged to support state legislation allowing local law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal immigration officials and deportation efforts.
A law that came into effect in 2019 prohibits law enforcement officers from arresting or detaining anyone based solely on a request from federal immigration officials, and prohibits probation officers from providing personal information about their clients to immigration authorities. The law allows police to assist federal immigration authorities in executing a federal arrest warrant or transferring a detainee to and from federal custody.
The Castle Rock motion was filed two weeks after Denver Mayor Mike Johnston vowed to oppose Trump’s mass deportation efforts, including a suggestion that he mobilize Denver police to battle U.S. troops federal and National Guard.
Trump, who has referred to immigrants as “poisoning the blood” of the United States, vowed to carry out mass deportations of people here illegally. His plan – “Operation Aurora” – is named after the culturally diverse Colorado city of 400,000, which attracted national attention after the former president repeatedly exaggerated claims that violent Venezuelan gangs had taken power.
He has said he will seek the death penalty for migrants who kill American citizens and invoke the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law previously used to create Japanese internment camps during World War II. Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser, has said sympathetic Republican governors could activate National Guard troops and deploy them to nearby states that refuse to participate in deportations.
“Denver prides itself on being a welcoming city, and we will do everything in our power to protect those who live here,” Johnston said in a statement last week. “We are considering a number of options to strengthen protections for all of our residents, and we will continue to educate about the rights of our immigrant community so they can best protect themselves from unlawful actions.”
Brooks, the Castle Rock councilor, called Johnston’s actions “laughable” and “insurgent rhetoric.”
“You turn around and you stab the police in the back and then you ask them to stand up for you in an insurgent movement,” Brooks said Tuesday, referring to Johnston’s recent cuts to the Denver Police Department’s budget. “And then further, to mention that you would be willing to put 50,000 of your residents at risk and stand at the provincial border to fight against federal efforts to remove those who are here illegally? Shame on you.”
Brooks and other council members, including Mayor Jason Gray, emphasized that the declaration would only apply to movements and policies against immigrants in the country illegally.
The motion approved Tuesday directs Castle Rock’s city attorney and staff to draft the statement, which will be introduced and approved by council at a future meeting.
“It’s unfortunate that we have to have a declaration because the city of Denver is doing its own thing, that we have to declare that we’re going to follow the law in Douglas County,” said Councilman Ryan Hollington.
Hollington voted in favor of the declaration, but said police must prioritize public safety and other local concerns over deportation efforts.
“The motion and the idea is to be able to protect the city and to be able to put up guardrails,” Councilman Kevin Bracken said. “It’s important to be able to do what we can when it’s appropriate and this is one of the things we can do, even if it’s only in name.”
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