Pictured: Chairman of the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners Abe Laydon meets with new Director of ICE appointed by President Donald Trump on Jan. 20, to secure increased partnerships for illegal immigration enforcement in Colorado.
This morning, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and three other sanctuary city mayors addressed the House Oversight Committee to defend immigration policies that were called “obstruction of justice” and “dangerous” by members of Congress.
While Mayor Johnston attempted to again defend what many believe are Denver’s unlawful and costly sanctuary city policies, the Board of Douglas County Commissioners has long been taking a different approach – with public safety as the priority.
“Unlike what we are hearing in Congress, the truth is that Douglas County warned Denver for years that Denver’s sanctuary policies beckoning illegal immigrants to a cold weather climate with no resources was not only lacking in compassion but would have massive costs and public safety impacts for Colorado,” said Commissioner and Board Chair Abe Laydon. “While we support legal immigration, we know illegal immigration harms legal immigrants most. We will continue to sue the state over its sanctuary laws and actively work with this administration to ensure that the hundreds of millions that have been spent on illegal immigration gets returned to Colorado taxpayers and their families.”
“Move over Joseph Stalin! Mayor Johnston rewrites history in DC. Trying to convince Congress he was an innocent victim in the illegal immigration crisis, and not a willing perpetrator, luring thousands of tropical immigrants to a Denver winter to advance his political agenda,” said Commissioner George Teal. “We can’t forget that when President Trump announced his plans, Mayor Johnston’s knee-jerk reaction was to mobilize the Denver police in armed resistance to our elected President.”
“Denver has spent $356 million on its migrant response—for perspective that’s nearly 60% of our county’s 2025 budget, which we use to fund critical services like law enforcement, wildfire response, foster care, roads, and parks,” said Commissioner Kevin Van Winkle. “Illegal immigration unfairly hammers taxpayers and jeopardizes our community’s safety.”
Learn more about recent and ongoing actions the Board has taken on our website.