Colorado joined a coalition of 19 states this week to sue the Trump administration over proposals to withhold federal funding from states that the White House insists are not complying with federal immigration policy.

Led by California, two separate lawsuits claimed that the Trump administration is “attempting to illegally coerce their states into sweeping immigration enforcement by threatening to withhold billions in federal funding for emergency services and infrastructure projects.”

Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that directed federal agencies to target “sanctuary cities,” including Denver, for not complying with immigration enforcement.

The states that signed the lawsuits are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. While most states joining the legal battle have a Democratic attorney general, Nevada and Vermont have a Republican leadership.

In a statement announcing the legal challenges, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said, “In Colorado, we make decisions on how our law enforcement resources are used here. In this case, the funds that Congress directed to the states have nothing to do with immigration enforcement and the federal government has no authority to condition Colorado’s access to such funds in this manner.”

While the Democratic-led state legislature and officials from Denver have sought to inoculate immigrants from federal authorities, several local jurisdictions have expressly declared that they are not “sanctuary” jurisdictions.

Earlier this week, the Colorado Springs City Council passed a resolution stressing — for a third time — that it is not a “sanctuary city.”

Meanwhile, at the state Capitol, lawmakers approved a bill aimed at protecting immigrants unlawfully staying in the U.S. from federal enforcement operations.

At its core, Senate Bill 276 reemphasized existing state law that precludes local law enforcers from detaining an individual based on an “immigration detainer.” An immigration “detainer” is a notice issued to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies informing the latter that agents intend to assume custody of an individual no longer subject to the former’s detention.

The measure reiterates that detaining a person who has successfully posted a bond based on a detainer request is a “new warrantless arrest.”

Insofar as jails, the bill prohibits a custodian from delaying a defendant’s release for immigration enforcement. However, it explicitly references an existing law that says nothing in the section precludes a law enforcement officer “from cooperating or assisting federal immigration enforcement authorities in the execution of a warrant issued by a federal judge or magistrate or honoring any writ issued by any state or federal judge concerning the transfer of a prisoner to or from federal custody.”

The bill now awaits the decision of Gov. Jared Polis, who has signaled his willingness to sign it.

Colorado is already facing a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this month, alleging the polies of the state and of the City and County of Denver are interfering with the job of immigration officers. The lawsuit named Polis, Weiser, the state legislature, the Denver City Council and Denver Sheriff Elias Diggins.

The DOJ filed similar lawsuits against Chicago, Rochester and New York.

In March, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, along with the mayors of “sanctuary” cities, faced scrutiny during a Congressional hearing.

Since Trump took office, Weiser, who is running for governor of Colorado, has joined nearly 20 lawsuits to fight tariffs, various cuts to federal agencies and orders to end “birthright citizenship.” Another recent filing fights the Trump administration over halting wind energy development.

Colorado’s Democratic-led legislature foresees more legal battles against the Trump administration. In the 2025 session, lawmakers passed a measure giving Polis $4 million to hire more attorneys at the Department of Law to represent the state in future litigation.

Republicans called the measure irresponsible in a year when the state faced a $1 billion budget deficit, while Democrats described it as necessary to protect Colorado residents from federal actions.

The Washington Examiner contributed to this report.