As Colorado battles a rise in gang violence fueled by illegal immigration, six counties are suing the state, alleging it is hindering efforts to combat immigrant crime.
The counties are battling a state law that bars local law enforcement from communicating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an issue that has come to a boil in a region where at least one Denver suburb has seen an unprecedented influx of international gang activity and where armed immigrants were recently seen taking over an apartment building.
El Paso, Elbert, Garfield, Mesa and Rio Blanco counties joined Douglas County in suing the state and the governor in April, arguing that HB 119-1124, a bill that would prohibit local governments from cooperating with the federal government in immigration enforcement, violates the state constitution and the U.S. Supremacy Clause, which prohibits state laws from violating federal law.
“Local law enforcement wants to be able to communicate with local immigration authorities,” Douglas County Commissioner Abe Leyden said. “We've been told there's definitely been an increase in property crime, assaults, human trafficking, and there's also been specific issues with drug cartels coming out of Venezuela.”
“[Colorado has] “It's very frustrating because we're being made to feel like we don't have the tools we need,” El Paso County Commissioner Carrie Geithner said.
'This is a national problem': Sanctuary city policies push violent immigrant gangs to the suburbs
The bill passed the state House of Representatives in 2019 by a vote of 36-28, with nearly all Republicans voting against it. Several Democrats also opposed the measure.
In May of that year, the bill passed the state senate, again on a party-line vote, passing 20-15 with one Democrat opposed, and becoming law.
The county also opposes HB23-1100, which would prohibit local governments from entering into intergovernmental agreements with ICE or other federal agencies to circumvent the law. The law was enacted after neighboring Teller County, which is not involved in the lawsuit, entered into a 287(g) agreement with ICE to keep apprehended immigrants in the county. A Colorado appeals court ruled that the practice violated state law.
“Even before we decided to file this lawsuit, we had been encouraging Denver to look at what it was trying to attract to the region,” Geithner told Fox News Digital. “This is a big concern. We've been watching it unfold and we've been sounding the alarm for the last two years.”
Officials in Aurora, a city in Douglas County nine miles east of Denver, previously told Fox News Digital that the notorious Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua had established a strong foothold in the area and “had entire apartment complexes under gang control.”
Days later, a video went viral showing armed gang members storming into an Aurora apartment building and moments before a shootout erupted in the parking lot.
Colorado city takes action after video of Venezuelan armed gang shared by local authorities goes viral
These images, published in a CBP information bulletin, show Tren de Aragua's tattoos and identifying information.
“Parts of our city are completely under the control of these gangs and it's being downplayed by the local media,” Aurora City Councilman Daniel Jurinski said. “I believe people's lives are being politicized. Nothing is being done to help the American people who are trapped under the control of these gangs.”
The Republican-leaning counties suing Colorado do not support the sanctuary city policies that have brought more than 40,000 immigrants to Denver, and some have enacted their own laws to stop the immigrant population from growing. Douglas County, for example, banned unscheduled bus stops in its area and threatened fines of up to $1,000 per bus.
“We feel it makes no sense that law enforcement agencies should be limited in their ability to address immigration issues while not having the ability to collaborate with other law enforcement agencies,” El Paso County Commissioner Stan VanderWerff said of the county's decision to join the lawsuit.
Aurora Police Respond to Allegations of Venezuelan Gang in Apartment Complex: “We're Not Occupying It”
Alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang took over an apartment in Aurora, Colorado, and demanded rent in exchange for “protection.” (Edward Romero/Council Member Daniel Jurinski)
“We've worked with them for decades to keep our communities safe, and now this law has been passed that just doesn't make sense to us. It doesn't seem appropriate.”
VanderWerff told Fox News Digital that in one case, a man arrested on suspicion of child sexual abuse turned out to be an illegal immigrant.
“Previously, we would communicate with ICE and ICE would issue a detention warrant. We would then hold the person until ICE could come to the jail and take them away,” VanderWerff said.
“Instead, [this person] A hearing was held, a judge set bail, the individual posted bail and was released. He has disappeared. We have no idea where he is. He is not expected to have any contact with police again.”
Geithner told Fox News Digital that it's “frustrating” to see Aurora's gang problems in national headlines after he'd warned Denver about such an outcome for years, but that he's “encouraged” that people are being made aware “of what's going on.”
Authorities say Aurora, a city of about 390,000 people, is the Colorado headquarters of the Tren de Aragua gang. (Kevorkh Djansezian/Getty Images)
“The local media is reluctant to report a lot of what's going on. [with migrant crime]”The local media has yet to acknowledge the problems that have been caused,” she said.
“It's incredibly frustrating to be in a state where the state government is completely ignoring reality. We've been telling the state government that this is a huge problem, and I hope they realize that. I don't have a lot of confidence. I see state leadership not wanting to accept reality.”
“People need to know what's going on and what the impacts of these policies are. We are asking our states, our federal government to please fix the border, please fix the problem,” Geithner said, adding that when he took office in 2018, “I never thought we'd be having a debate in our community about the impacts of an open border.”
Democratic Gov. Jared Polis could not be reached for comment on the lawsuit.
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Chris Swecker, Former FBI Criminal Investigation Divisionpreviously told Fox News Digital that the influx of gang members was “predictable and preventable” and that federal law enforcement would be needed to combat it.
“At this point, federal agencies should get involved,” he added. “The FBI needs to get involved with the ATF and the DEA, share intelligence and treat this as an international criminal issue.”
