Activists opposed to the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration are, predictably, exploiting the shooting death of a former Coloradan by a federal agent during an immigration-enforcement action in Minneapolis. It’s the latest leverage point for the political fringe, nationwide and in Colorado. And it’s getting plenty of news coverage, also predictably.

Along the Front Range, smatterings of protesters have staged demonstrations in public spaces. At some public meetings, too. Activists turned up to address a Colorado Springs City Council meeting this week, for example, piggybacking their cause onto the council’s annual proclamation for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

Some of the activists are elected officials themselves. The Aurora City Council’s newly elected “progressive” majority spent hours at a council meeting Monday pondering and ultimately adopting a resolution decrying the Minneapolis incident and the actions of federal law officers. It’s not exactly the way Aurora voters might have expected them to spend their time, of course. 

And next door in Denver, the City Council is considering an ordinance prohibiting law officers from concealing their identities, including by wearing face masks, while interrogating, detaining, or arresting suspects in the city. The real target is U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. One of the proposal’s backers on the council said it will “promote transparency and accountability” and that “masked law enforcement undermines public trust.” How it will be enforced if passed — and whether the absurd and pointless proposal even is legal — are open questions. 

All such gestures seem to be more about stirring the pot than achieving any practical end. In this case, the immediate aim is to denounce federal authorities for their role — still under investigation — in the fatal shooting last week of activist Renee Nicole Good, formerly of Colorado Springs. More generally, it’s about opposing U.S. immigration policy.

While the facts surrounding Good’s shooting remain in dispute and are the focus of heated debate, a couple of broader conclusions are warranted about this latest burst of activism.

One is that attempts by activists in Colorado and around the country to disrupt ICE enforcement of U.S. immigration law are inherently dangerous as well as illegal in many cases. Blowing whistles to alert illegal immigrants that authorities are in the area; surrounding federal agents in a purported effort to monitor their actions and capture them on video, or even using vehicles to block federal law officers serving warrants or arresting suspects — prevent or at least impede enforcement of federal law.

In other words, they’re not acts of protest. They are obstructions of justice. And if — as federal authorities contend in the Minneapolis case — a federal law officer feels his or her life is in danger, the officer is likely to react with lethal force.

Protest in a free society is walking with a placard in front of City Hall or the State Capitol — even the White House. Or, marching in the street — after obtaining a permit so as not to obstruct traffic. It could be a quiet candlelight vigil, as well. Protest might mean lighting up social media, starting an e-newsletter or going door to door petitioning neighbors. Maybe it’s writing a letter to your local newspaper.

Protest is not preventing law officers from doing their job.

The other conclusion we can safely draw is that any elected officials who were in on the act this week while in their official capacity — were betraying the public. Members of the Denver and Aurora city councils weren’t elected to peddle their half-baked notions of social justice — but to patch potholes and police the streets. It’s what local government is all about.

Sure, it can be humbling work, and it doesn’t typically make headlines. That’s why it’s called public service.