Denver is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration over the city’s “sanctuary” policies.

The motion, filed on Monday in a U.S. district court, insisted that the laws of both Colorado and Denver do not impede federal immigration enforcement and that “the federal government has no right or ability to compel local municipalities to help it achieve its political objectives.”

“We’re not sure if they don’t understand the laws or just don’t want to follow them, but Denver has never violated federal statute,” Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said in a statement. “We’re not changing our laws, we’re not changing our values, and we’re not backing down from this meritless lawsuit. The federal government will not be successful in bullying Denver into doing its job for them.”

Denver has come under scrutiny from the Trump administration over its immigration policies. Notably, a 2017 ordinance prohibits “city employees from collecting information on immigration or citizenship status; prohibits the sharing of any other information about individuals for purposes of immigration enforcement; and, memorializes predominant practices by prohibiting use of city resources or City cooperation with civil immigration enforcement.”

The ordinance mirrors Colorado law. 

In effectively protesting the “sanctuary” label, Johnston also mirroed the position of Gov. Jared Polis, who this month insisted Colorado is not a “sanctuary” state and added he is “frustrated” by the label.

The sanctuary label is typically applied to cities and states that either discourage or actively prevent cooperation by local agencies with immigration agents. Both Denver and the state of Colorado have long adopted such laws.

Colorado has, for years, limited cooperation between federal immigration agents and local authorities.

In particular, a law, expanded this year by the Colorado legislature, expressly prohibits all state agencies and political subdivisions from sharing or inquiring into individuals’ personal identifying information to enforce immigration laws. The law imposes a civil fine of $50,000 for each violation.

A few weeks ago, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser filed a civil lawsuit against a Mesa County Sheriff’s Office deputy who communicated to ICE — via a routinely used multi-agency communications channel — about a college student who has overstayed her visa.

In announcing the lawsuit, Weiser said it aims to require the deputy to “follow state laws that bar state agency and local government employees from cooperating with federal officials on immigration civil enforcement actions.”

That prohibition does not extend to criminal investigations.

City officials reiterated that “Denver continues to work with the federal government to both arrest and prosecute violent criminals” and “also provides notice to ICE upon request when inmates are released from jail, but cannot hold inmates past their release date.”

Johnston and Polis have reiterated that their governments cooperate with the federal immigration agents on criminal matters, but both have drawn the line when it comes to detaining an immigrant facing or adjudicated of a civil offense in order to give the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sufficient time to arrest that person for breaking immigration laws. 

That issue became the subject of a tense exchange in March, when Congress invited Johnston and the mayors of New York and Boston to show up for a hearing over their local immigration ordinances.

During that hearing, a Republican from Ohio pressed Johnston about the release of an alleged Venezuelan gang member into “the streets” and how federal immigration agents scrambled to take him custody. 

A video released by Denver authorities showed what happened: The alleged gang member was released onto the streets outside the county jail, and, upon seeing federal authorities, he ran, leaving ICE agents to chase after him.

On Feb. 28, authorities with the Denver Sheriff’s Department notified U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that they would be releasing Abraham Gonzales from jail.

Denver authorities provided ICE about an hour’s advanced notice of the release.

In the video, an ICE agent follows Gonzales, who takes off running. About six federal agents pursue Gonzales on foot. One agent in the chase draws what appears to be a weapon. At least part of the incident happens outside of the camera shot, before agents subdued Gonzales.

During the March 5 hearing, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, said one of the ICE officers got assaulted in that parking lot. 

Last month, a federal judge tossed a similar lawsuit by Trump against Chicago and the state of Illinois on the grounds of the 10th Amendment, which states that all powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved for the states or the people.

To date, Denver has filed four lawsuits against the Trump administration challenging the withholding of federal grant funds owed to Denver.

This summer, a federal court granted the city a preliminary injunction in the case involving threats to withhold millions of dollars in federal transportation grant funding. In its ruling, the court said the Trump administration “is likely acting in violation of the Separation of Powers principle,” which deals with Congress’s role in appropriating funding. The court also said the Trump administration failed to provide reasonable explanations for the new funding conditions.

Denver also joined Chicago and Pima County, Arizona in seeking to recover $24 million in FEMA dollars allocated for the purposes of sheltering and assisting migrants.

In July, Denver, along with dozens of counties and cities, sued over the Trump administration withholding funding from “sanctuary” jurisdictions. Denver received a favorable ruling in that case on Friday, according to city officials.

Denver also sued the Trump administration over funding used to detect and prevent large-scale security threats. The Trump administration reimbursed the city for the promised funds following the lawsuit’s filing.