Denver Mayor Mike Johnston made national headlines when he told a local news outfit that the city’s police and “50,000 Denverites” would not comply with President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to deport thousands of immigrants residing illegally in the Mile High City — even suggesting he’d go to jail if necessary.

Since then, the mayor has walked back his statement somewhat, telling 9News that what he meant was he hoped “this is an outcome … we can avoid in this country.”

Although it’s not exactly clear what Trump’s plan to crack down on illegal immigration would look like in “sanctuary” cities, many agree the border situation has become troubling and needs attention. No legal definition of a “sanctuary” city or state exists, but, broadly speaking, it refers to a community that expressly refuses to cooperate with federal authorities on enforcing immigration laws.

“I think for sure, it (the border) needs to be tightened, to an extent,” said 18-year-old Reece Zicht, a college student and resident of south Denver. “No country can last if every single person is trying to get in.”

Zicht, a U.S. citizen who has lived abroad most of his life, suggested that individuals who want to come to the United States without documentation need to be more educated about what to expect when they arrive here.

“Sure, the wages are higher, but so’s the rent and the cost of living,” he said. “While you want these people to be able to transfer in safely, they still have to be able to live and feed their family (once they arrive).”

Johnston has consistently defended Denver’s response to the illegal immigration crisis. Early in the crisis, officials decided that city taxpayers would assume the cost of temporarily housing and feeding the immigrants. The city’s costs have so far exceeded $75 million. 

A new study by the Common Sense Institute, a non-partisan research outfit in Greenwood Village, estimated that the nearly 43,000 immigrants who have come to Denver over the past two years have cost $356 million. That money includes hospital and education expenses.   

Zicht said he is perplexed at how millions in taxpayer dollars can be used to both house and displace those who have arrived in the country illegally, such as the thousands of immigrants bused to Denver by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

Others said Johnston is being overly dramatic.

“I think there’s a better way of handling this,” said Denver area resident YaYa Ho of Johnston’s recent statements to protect the immigrants unlawfully staying in the city. “It’s just sensationalism. What benefit does it bring if he goes to jail? It just turns him into a martyr, and then, he’ll have future election points.”

Ho, a native of Taiwan, is a U.S. citizen.

“If you’re going to have a program to help these immigrants, you should have programming in place vetting them,” she said. “You know, the are some really hard-working people coming here doing really great things, and then there’s the gang members, criminals, and drug dealers that are just here to take advantage of the system — granted, there are Americans doing that, as well — (and) they should be deported.”

Others suggested that the mayor take a closer look at his job description.

“He (Johnston) is an elected official and he’s supposed to uphold the law, not pick and choose what he’s going to validate or invalidate based on his personal ideology,” said retired U.S. Army recruiter and cryptologic linguist Carl Johnson. “That’s not the way this works. You’re supposed to govern for the people and on behalf of the people — the people elected you to enforce the law and not give us your interpretation of it.”

Last month, Johnston and a coalition of democratic mayors met with Homeland Security officials and lawmakers to discuss the crisis and said the city is mulling over several options “to strengthen protections for all our residents,” in addition to educating the immigrant community about their rights.

“The United States is built on a nation of laws and these laws are here to protect the freedoms of our way of life and a country without borders is a country without sovereignty,” Johnson said. “Immigration is not about closing doors, it’s about opening doors to people who respect and value the process — if we don’t uphold our own laws, then we fail future generations.”