Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he believes the mayor of Denver could be removed from office if he tries to block President-elect Trump's mass deportation plan.
“I would say that if the mayor of Denver is going to resist federal law, there's a long history of supremacy of federal law, and if he's going to resist that, it's going to go all the way to the Supreme Court.” Paul said on Sunday on CBS's “Face the Nation.” “And I think he might be fired.”
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has vowed to protect local immigrants as Trump's transition team promises to crack down on immigration, especially in sanctuary cities, after taking office.
Sanctuary cities are municipalities that generally restrict or prevent local governments from cooperating with the federal government in enforcing immigration laws.
In a previous interview Contains DenveriteJohnston said he would use Denver police to stop federal forces from deporting immigrants. In an interview on Friday With 9 newshe retracted those comments, but said he believed they would help local residents thwart planned deportations.
Johnston said she plans to protest her deportation and “anticipates other residents will do the same.”
President Trump has appointed Tom Homan as border czar, seeking to quickly implement immigration promises he made during his campaign. Johnston said he is not afraid of Homan's insistence on arresting leaders who disobey the federal government.
“I think the goal is to be able to negotiate with rational people how to solve difficult problems,” Johnston said.
Paul said Sunday that he did not know whether Johnston would face criminal charges for disobeying the Trump administration, but “he will lose.”
“People need to understand that what he's proposing is a form of insurrection for the states to resist the federal government,” Rand said. “Most people are against it and rejected it a long time ago.”
“So I think the mayor of Denver is on the wrong side of history. In fact, I think he faces legal consequences if he doesn't follow federal law.”
The Kentucky senator said he supports President Trump's immigration plan, especially the pursuit of criminals.
But Paul opposes using the military to deport people, saying it would be a terrible mistake.
