Denver Mayor Mike Johnston on Thursday issued an executive order directing city police to intervene during clashes involving federal immigration officers, saying that local law enforcement has a duty to protect people’s civil rights and provide aid to Denver residents.
Johnston’s order also requires local police to identify and record Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents using body cameras when “tactically safe,” and confirms the Denver Police Department will investigate criminal allegations made against ICE agents.
“We seek not to provoke but to protect,” Johnston said in a news release. “In a time of great fear, we are reminding Denverites that there are still those you can trust and lines you can’t cross.”
Johnston’s order comes in the wake of a monthslong surge of immigration enforcement in Minnesota, an operation that led to chaotic standoffs between ICE and local residents, shuttered schools and businesses and culminated in thousands of arrests — including of some U.S. citizens.
Two citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were also killed by federal agents in separate incidents.
Johnston said he was acting to reassure residents and not because Denver had information about an upcoming increase in immigration operations.
But state lawmakers and immigrant advocates worry that it’s only a matter of time. President Donald Trump has singled out Colorado and other Democratic-led states repeatedly in his second term with threats to cut federal funding. The Denver metro area in particular has drawn Trump’s attention in the past. During the 2024 election, he used a neglected apartment complex in Aurora as a campaign prop to cast Venezuelan immigrants as dangerous.
The order represents an escalation of Johnston’s defiance of federal immigration enforcement under the Trump administration — a notable contrast from Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who has taken more of a hands-off approach.
“Our law enforcement and legal teams will stand up for civil liberties, and, if necessary, step in to protect the life and safety of our residents,” Johnston added. “This is our city, and we will defend the rights of every person in it.”
ICE officials did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Thursday afternoon.
The executive order calls on local police to de-escalate clashes between immigration officers and protesters. It also says they have a duty to intervene when force is used by federal agents that “could cause death or serious bodily injury,” and requires officers to provide life-saving aid.
The order attempts to block ICE from conducting enforcement actions on city property barring a judicial warrant or valid court order.
Local investigations of ICE agents would be referred to the Denver district attorney or Colorado attorney general for potential prosecution, the order says.
“People in our community have rights, regardless of where they were born,” City Attorney Miko Brown said in a press release. “Denver will continue fighting to protect these rights, uphold the Constitution, and guard against federal overreach.”
In Minnesota, state and local officials criticized ICE’s tactics during the surge, which ended earlier this month. But the justice system struggled to restrain the agency’s operations. At one point, Minnesota’s top federal judge accused administration officials of disobeying more than 200 court orders.
Colorado already has some protections in place for immigrants. State law prohibits local law enforcement from coordinating with federal immigration enforcement, and bars state and local officials from sharing personal information with ICE, unless it’s for a criminal investigation.
Still, federal immigration agents in Colorado have targeted and detained people without first determining their immigration status or their flight risk, a pattern a federal judge ruled was unlawful in a preliminary injunction last year. Lawyers for immigrants say ICE is violating that court order and are urging the judge to intervene again.
From Jan. 20 to Oct. 15 of last year, ICE agents arrested at least 3,522 people in Colorado, according to the most recent data obtained from ICE and published by the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law’s Deportation Data Project.
Just 37% of those arrested had any prior criminal convictions, records show.
This session, statehouse Democrats have called for new legislation to place further restraints on federal immigration enforcement. One proposal would require law enforcement agents to wear identification; others would increase state oversight of detention centers and block ICE from hospitals, schools and day care centers.
Staff writer Taylor Dolven and The Associated Press contributed to this report.