Colorado’s two most populous cities are separated by fewer than 60 miles, but when it comes to their approach to immigration law enforcement, the mayors of Colorado Springs and Denver stand much farther apart.

To some extent, both mayors are merely articulating their respective cities’ positions, though the crackdown on illegal immigration by the Trump administration has put the spotlight on their contrasting views.

On the one hand, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has repeatedly defended his city’s response to the illegal immigration crisis, and, at one point, suggested civil disobedience as a proper action against a federal mass deportation program. 

On the other hand, Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade welcomed a major ICE raid in his city, adding he hopes to see more. He also maintained the city’s “duty” is to its residents first. 

Denver: A ‘welcoming city’ 

Denver’s identity as a “sanctuary” jurisdiction is rooted in several policies approved over the last several years.

Mayor Michael Hancock, for example, created a legal defense fund for immigrants. 

In 2017, the Denver City Council passed the Public Safety Enforcement Priorities Act, which limits the city’s involvement in immigration enforcement and the use of city funds and other resources for such. It also restricts the city’s cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), unless a federal judge issues a warrant.

Shortly thereafter, state lawmakers passed a bill to protect individuals from having to reveal their immigration status to law enforcement.

Some 600 miles from the Texas border, America’s illegal immigration crisis has largely spared Denver. The last two years changed all that, when tens of thousands of people began arriving in Colorado’s most populous city, straining the city’s resources.

Johnston’s administration responded by offering shelter and transportation to the immigrants, calling Denver a “welcoming city.”

When Donald Trump, fresh from electoral victory, announced in January that mass deportations would commence under his administration, Johnston pushed back, suggesting federal agents would be met with the city’s police force at the Denver county line and likened it to a “Tiananmen Square moment.” He later walked back those comments. 

He also told local news outlets he’d be willing to go to jail in support of the cause.

Within days of Trump’s inauguration, Congress summoned Johnston, along with the mayors of Boston, Chicago, and New York, to appear before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and answer questions regarding the city’s “sanctuary” activities.

To prepare for the hearing and defend the city’s interests, Denver hired the D.C.-based law firm of Covington and Burling, LLC, to help Johnston. Under the one-year contract with a maximum cap of $2 million, the city agreed to pay the lawyers a “discounted” rate of $1,000 per hour.

Generally speaking, a “sanctuary city” refers to a jurisdiction that discourages or prohibits local law enforcement from cooperating with immigration officers, such as by barring employees from reporting an individual’s immigration status to federal authorities.

The Mile High City mayor has insisted that Denver is not a “sanctuary” city and that its policies reflect state law, which, among other things, prohibits law enforcement from detaining individuals based on immigration status alone.

“In Denver, we believe we are stronger and better for the contributions of all — regardless of whether someone arrived in Colorado hours ago or has been here for decades,” a Johnston sokesperson told The Denver Gazette. “We follow all local, state, and federal laws and are always willing to work together on common-sense solutions that keep our city safe while protecting the rights of residents.”

Colorado Springs: A non-sanctuary city

In contrast, Colorado Springs has publicly affirmed its “non-sanctuary” status, including enshrining that position with official declarations on three separate occasions — one of them as recent as May 13.

The city said it would not spend resources on “the immigration crisis,” but that it welcomes legal immigrants.

“The United States is a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants, both are true,” Mobolade, the city’s mayor, told The Denver Gazette. “As a naturalized citizen, I deeply understand the value of our immigration system and the importance of upholding the rule of law. That responsibility applies to all of us, whether born here or not.”

After law enforcement officers recently raided an “underground” nightclub in Colorado Springs, detaining more than 100 individuals suspected of being in the country illegally, Mobolade told the media outlet NewsNation Now that he anticipates more arrests and hopes to see more raids in the city in the future.

“As for recent ICE activity, including the April 29 operation in Colorado Springs, this was a federally-led response to a months-long criminal investigation into an illegal underground nightclub,” Mobolade said.

As an interior city more than 600 miles north of Mexico, the illegal immigration crisis at the border began spilling over into Denver more than two years ago, when 90 immigrants dropped off by bus from Texas were left to wander downtown in the cold. Traditionally, immigrants in previous waves have favored gateway cities, such as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

Between December 2022 and September 2024, more than 40,000 immigrants arrived in Denver, which offered temporary shelter and transportation to other cities.

Many fled the political instability and economic collapse in Venezuela, coming to the U.S. with not much more than the clothes on their backs, little-to-no money in their pockets and no familial support.

Some were bused to Denver by the Texas governor. 

“Texas’ overwhelmed and overrun border communities should not have to shoulder the flood of illegal immigration due to President Biden’s reckless open border policies, like his mass catch and release without court dates or any way to track them,” said Gov. Abbott in a May 18, 2023, statement. “Until the President and his administration step up and fulfill their constitutional duty to secure the border, the State of Texas will continue busing migrants to self-declared sanctuary cities like Denver to provide much-needed relief to our small border towns.”

While city officials did not track the number of immigrants who stayed in Denver, bus, plane and train tickets suggested about half have stayed. That’s roughly the equivalent of adding a city the size of Golden to the Denver metro area in less than 18 months.

Early in the crisis, officials decided the city would assume the costs of responding to the crisis. To date, the city’s response has cost nearly $90 million, the bulk of which has been paid by Denver taxpayers.

On Friday, Denver joined Chicago and Pima County in Arizona in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its termination of federal funding awarded to local jurisdictions to help defray the cost of aiding the tens of thousands of immigrants who arrived in America’s interior cities after illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Denver alleged in the lawsuit it’s owed about $25 million in funds promised by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Critics of Johnston’s “welcoming city” philosophy have accused the Ivy League college graduate of “raiding” the city’s budget to open shelters, provide medical care, and arrange transportation to other cities for immigrants who did not want to stay in Denver. Johnston has said he views the crisis in moral terms — the city needed to act, and fast, to help people, including families with young children, arriving in the middle of winter. 

Meanwhile, in Colorado Springs, Mobolade assured residents the city was monitoring the situation in Denver but would prioritize the needs of its own residents over the immigrants.

Colorado Springs chose not to open city-run shelters or provide meals.

“We will not invite this crisis into our city and we are not a sanctuary city,” Mobolade said in a Jan. 31, 2024, statement. “It’s the City’s duty to care for its residents first, and that remains our top priority. While we are called to serve and help those in need, as Mayor, I will act as a thoughtful and careful steward of our taxpayer dollars. We must use these limited resources in support of and in service to our own residents first.”

Cooperation with immigration authorities

While both mayors acknowledge that enforcement of immigration laws falls outside of local jurisdictions, how each deals with federal authorities diverged to some extent.

Both feel strongly that those who break the law should be held accountable.

“When people commit crimes, they should be held accountable,” Mobolade said. “It is both strategic and reasonable for federal immigration authorities to focus their enforcement efforts on actual threats to public safety. And, of course, abide by the laws that govern them in that process,” he said.

Many consider Colorado as a sanctuary state because of laws limiting local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities, including prohibitions on honoring ICE detainer requests without a warrant, something that lawmakers this year affirmed.

Gov. Jared Polis and Johnston have asserted that the prohibition does not equate to being a sanctuary city or state.

In March, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, exposed this tension during a Congressional hearing, in which Johnston was called to testify about the city’s response to the influx of immigrants.

During a tense exchange, Jordan called Johnston to task for releasing from Denver custody and onto the street — rather than to ICE authorities — an alleged gang member after which a brief chase ensued that resulted in a minor injury to a agent. The immigrant was ultimately detained. 

“We do coordinate with ICE,” Johnston said, adding that the city hands over detainees when immigration officers have a warrant, as the law requires.

Johnston also testified that the city has notified ICE about releases 1,226 times in the past seven years.

“Denver police enforce the law without fear or favor and hold many responsibilities, none of which involve federal immigration enforcement,” a spokesperson for Johnston said. “Furthermore, immigration status doesn’t change whether someone is held accountable for their actions. When a Denver police officer pulls you over for speeding, their concern is how fast you were going, not your status or documentation. And if you are going over the speed limit or endangering others, you’ll get a ticket and be held accountable. That’s true whether you were born in South Denver or South America or the South Pole.”

Mobolade added: “The Colorado Springs Police Department is not authorized to conduct immigration enforcement under Colorado law. It is up to federal agencies to responsibly manage the undocumented individuals in this country.”

What’s next for Denver and Colorado Springs

For Denver, the Trump administration is turning up the heat.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Colorado and the City and County of Denver, alleging their policies are interfering with the job of immigration officers in a case that could have ramifications for enforcement nationwide.

The lawsuit filed in Colorado District Court claims both the state and Denver have enacted “sanctuary laws” in violation of the U.S. Constitution, the latest in a series of actions by the president cracking down on so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions.

Along with Johnston, the lawsuit named Gov. Polis, Attorney General Phil Weiser, the state legislature, the Denver City Council, the Denver Sheriff’s Department and Denver Sheriff Elias Diggins.

Similar lawsuits have been filed against Chicago and Rochester, New York.

Legal experts are closely watching the case, with some saying it is a critical test of the boundaries on the extent to which the federal government can compel the states to assist in detaining and deporting millions of people unlawfully staying in the U.S.

On Denver’s lawsuit filed Friday to secure promised FEMA dollars, Johnston alleged the Trump administration’s actions are illegal.

“While Donald Trump has time and again tried to divide the country instead of finding bipartisan solutions on immigration, the people of Denver stood up and stood together to help people in need,” Johnston said in a news release on Friday. “The (FEMA) Shelter and Services Program was intended for the sole purpose of reimbursing cities who did exactly that while following all federal, state, and local laws. Now, the Trump administration is illegally trying to punish cities who did the work the federal government couldn’t. I am incredibly proud of how our city responded to this crisis and will continue to fight for the funding we were awarded but have not received.”

Denver Gazette reporter Nicole C. Brambila contributed to this story.