{"id":492,"date":"2025-09-08T19:18:50","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T19:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sleepystork.com\/?p=492"},"modified":"2025-09-11T10:53:05","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T10:53:05","slug":"krista-kafer-colorado-dont-back-down-from-trumps-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sleepystork.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/08\/krista-kafer-colorado-dont-back-down-from-trumps-threats\/","title":{"rendered":"Krista Kafer: Colorado, don\u2019t back down from Trump\u2019s threats"},"content":{"rendered":"

She fled. It was the middle of the night. Her boyfriend had hit her hard enough to blacken her eye. Fearful of going to the police because she was in the country illegally, she went to her workplace instead. Though closed for business, the security guard was on duty, she reasoned, would protect her from another blow. Though my friend, a manager at the company, encouraged the young woman to go to the police, she feared they would tip off federal immigration enforcement. The crime went unreported.<\/p>\n

This is the kind of situation that Colorado laws are designed to prevent. By limiting communication between state and local law enforcement and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), victims of crime, regardless of legal status, can feel safe approaching local police to report crimes and receive protection. These laws do not stop federal agents from enforcing federal immigration laws, they ensure that our police officers have the trust of the public as they enforce state and local laws.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the Trump administration is trying to bully Colorado<\/a> into repealing these laws with threats and litigation. These efforts, if successful, would cripple our state\u2019s autonomy under the Constitution to govern law and order.<\/p>\n

The Department of Justice\u2019s most recent intimidation tactic, a letter sent last month to Colorado and the city of Denver and other jurisdictions around the country, demanded that the state and city repeal their so-called \u201csanctuary\u201d laws or face criminal charges. The so-called sanctuary laws–so-called because \u201csanctuary\u201d is nowhere defined in law\u2014refer to legislation passed by the Colorado General Assembly over the past six years limiting communication and cooperation between state and local law enforcement and ICE.<\/p>\n

For example, Colorado laws state that local law enforcement cannot arrest someone based on whether he or she is here illegally or share immigration status information with federal authorities unless a judge has issued a warrant in a federal criminal investigation.<\/p>\n

Additionally, police cannot hold individuals in jail past their release time so they can be picked up by ICE. However, local authorities can still respond to ICE requests to provide information on when inmates will be released so ICE agents can be on hand.<\/p>\n

The threat to prosecute so-called sanctuary jurisdictions comes after the administration\u2019s failed attempts to starve and sue them into submission. The courts quashed the administration\u2019s efforts to withhold funding from noncompliant jurisdictions as a violation of the Constitution\u2019s Tenth Amendment and other provisions.<\/p>\n