Denver’s elected leaders have their blinders on when it comes to the ill effects of illegal immigration — their only focus being their steadfast refusal to cooperate with federal efforts to crack down. And with their heads planted so deeply in the sand, they probably haven’t noticed a productive and encouraging federal-local partnership forged to fight crime just next door in Aurora.

It wouldn’t be the first time Denver City Hall missed a chance to learn from Colorado’s No. 3 city. But our hope springs eternal the pols who run the No. 1 city someday will open their eyes and minds to the value of a unified front in the crime fight.

As The Gazette reported earlier this week, seizures of illegal fentanyl and other deadly drugs have soared in Aurora since its police partnered with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to fight drug trafficking. Like Colorado in general, Aurora needs all the help it can get in combatting the opioid scourge. 

Aurora’s elected leadership recognized that and empowered their police last year to combine their efforts with the formidable resources of the federal government. The effort already is paying off and offers a schematic for the crime fight to local governments that are paying attention.

As noted in The Gazette’s report, the Aurora Police Department dedicated an investigator to the DEA to build a stronger relationship between the two agencies. They’re different levels of government but with the same targets in their sights.

The DEA subsequently helped make 162 arrests in Aurora involving drug-related crimes, national fugitives and immigration, DEA Rocky Mountain Division Special Agent in Charge David Olesky said at a joint Aurora police-DEA news conference last Monday. DEA officials even recently arrested two suspects in Aurora in connection with an auto theft ring that is linked to the La Linea cartel in Mexico, according to Olesky.

DEA officials seized more than 1.4 million fentanyl pills and 244 kilograms of methamphetamine in Aurora last year, Olesky said.

For its part, the Aurora Police Department has been tackling a lot more of the drug trade since the partnership began, Police Chief Todd Chamberlain said at the news conference. Aurora police seized almost 60,000 grams of fentanyl, more than 74,000 grams of methamphetamine, 2,000 grams of cocaine and more than 4,000 grams of heroin in 2025.

The good news in that is obvious — more drugs off the street — but of course the bad news is there appears to be so much more on the streets in the first place.

As the struggle against fentanyl proceeds, the model of joint local-federal cooperation is worth exploring in its own right. And not only in countering opioids but also other crime. In checking illegal immigration, too. 

Yet, while Aurora wisely leverages federal resources to enhance public safety, Denver’s electeds waste time shaking their fists at the same U.S. authorities and pass silly political statements into law. They’ve even threatened to arrest federal agents for wearing masks — yes, really — as they apprehend illegal immigrants.

When it comes to upholding public safety — which is in everybody’s interest — Washington isn’t the enemy. Crime is. 

Yet, Denver City Hall has turned the crime fight into a political football — while Aurora City Hall endeavors to make its streets safer.