Sanctuary mayors broke laws, engaged in ‘an act of treason’ and should be prosecuted, some Republicans say

By / / Top Stories, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

‘We don’t ask anyone’s status at the time of arrest’ — Denver Mayor Mike Johnston

By Brian Porter | Rocky Mountain Voice

At least one member of Congress is referring criminal prosecution of Denver Mayor Mike Johnston to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, on grounds he violated his oath and U.S. law, and another alleges him to be a traitor to the country.

Those were but two of the allegations the mayor faced during a marathon hearing Wednesday on Capitol Hill in the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee pertaining to sanctuary cities. He was joined on a panel by the mayors of Boston, Chicago and New York City.

“I’ve heard you say Denver’s crime went down, well Aurora’s crime went up,” said U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Windsor, Colo., who visited the city this summer most known nationally for Tren de Aragua gang activity.

Johnston began the hearing detailing the “10-to-11 buses per day” arriving in Denver at the peak under President Joe Biden, and “dropping off” up to 300 illegal aliens, mostly women and children. He described 10-degree weather with the illegals only wearing “sandals and a T-shirt, leaving them in danger of freezing to death.”

He calls it a “crisis we didn’t choose or create,” and blames Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for sending the estimated 42,000 illegals to Denver.

“We stood up multiple programs to expand housing and support for arrivals, and to assist them with legal pathways to work, so they could be in a position to support themselves and the community,” Johnston said.

But, that alone could be considered a violation of U.S. law, one member said, with specific citations, and with another going a step further.

“Giving aid and comfort to the enemies of America is an act of treason,” said U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, Ga.

Johnston repeatedly defended his actions as a mayor backed into a corner by Abbott and DeSantis. But others, like U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-St. Petersburg, Fla., say Johnston left out a welcome mat to illegals.

“Harboring is a federal crime,” she said.

When she pushed Johnston on his statement as to if he would go to jail in civil disobedience, he distanced under oath. Luna produced a CBS Colorado news report in which he said it, and showed him the referrals she’s making to Bondi.

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-Charleston-S.C., asked each of the mayors to define if “breaking into the country” is a crime. Only Johnston answered, saying “It depends”.

But, the anticipated showdown of the day was expected to be the confrontation of retired police officer and U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Fort Lupton, Colo., with Johnston. It didn’t disappoint.

Evans claimed to have “seen first hand” the “plummeting” of public safety in Denver and Colorado, recalling the state ranked 31st in crime when his 12-year police career began and last year the state was ranked near the top, at third.

Six years ago, Evans said, Denver didn’t make the list for top 50 most dangerous communities, “this year, U.S. News and World Report ranked Denver as the 10th most dangerous city in the country.” He added, “Denver has twice the homicide rate as San Francisco.”

Johnston was asked several times if he cared about the residents of Denver.

He claimed Evans was wrong on the reports and other data, but Evans responded that his data was verifiable.

Then Evans turned to what many police officers call an “FBI card”. It includes various information an officer is required to complete upon an arrest, including location of birth and citizenship.

“We don’t ask anyone’s status at the time of arrest,” Johnston said.

Better yet, Evans claims officers are “prohibited from asking for any information,” and he cited a copy of a Denver police training bulletin.

“Will you allow police officers to fill out all the information on an FBI arrest card?,” Evans asked Johnston.

He never got an answer.

The first engagement with a Coloradan was with Boebert, who led off questioning for Republicans. She recalled Denverites demanding to know, “what will you do?,” and Johnston “blam[ing] state law” for the city being unable to coordinate with ICE.

“Would you join me in demanding these sanctuary policies be repealed?” Boebert asked.

“I do not believe the detainer law needs to be changed,” Johnston responded.

But, she points out another city law which also creates an immigration sanctuary.

“Your ordinance says an employee would be fired for communicating with local law enforcement,” Boebert said.

The last of the Coloradans to grill Johnston was U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colo. Springs. He picked up where Boebert left off.

“The city of Denver also has a legal defense fund supporting individuals facing deportation,” he said, also taking aim at the city ordinance which “prohibits employees from assisting federal agencies in the enforcement of federal immigration laws, or inquiring about a person’s immigration status.”

Earlier in the hearing, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, Ohio, noted the recent release of Abraham Gonzalez, who he described as a Venezuelan detainee. Jordan criticizes that prior to release “to the streets” coordination should have been made with ICE, but wasn’t, and an ICE officer was injured as a result. The transfer could have been safely made in the jail, Jordan said.

“You know why you don’t do it that way, because you are a sanctuary city,” Jordan said. “The safest thing to do is to say, ‘ICE, we have him in custody.'”

Crank revisited the discussion.

“El Paso [County] transfers in the jail, with the handcuffs on,” he said. “We’ve never had a problem.”

Throughout the hearing, Johnston claimed the incident was the first for Denver.

“You’re putting police officers, who you are sworn to help protect, in danger to score political points,” Crank said. “Full cooperation would be allowing them to come in the jail and do the transfer in the jail.”

America has been “invaded by millions and millions of people,” Taylor Greene said, connecting the porous border under President Joe Biden to the fentanyl death outbreak.

“There are 200-300 Americans who die every day from fentanyl, not die, they are murdered,” she said. “Will you work with ICE?”

Johnston responded the city does, noting 1,226 times. Yet, he claims Denver had 42,000 illegals, who some note have already broken a law simply by their presence in America.

“They were busing unaccompanied minors all over the U.S.,” said U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Naples, Fla. “That is the reckless history of immigration under Joe Biden and the Democratic Party.”

Johnston told him Denver had spent $79 million on illegals since 2022. Evans and others claim he couldn’t know that, if the city’s policy is not to confirm immigration status.

“Only when it showed up on your doorstep did you get upset,” Donalds said, defending his governor’s move to ship illegals to Denver.

Added Committee Chairman Jim Comer, R-Thompkinsville, Kent.: “Sanctuary cities make us all less safe and are a public safety nightmare… It is federal law to turn over these criminals to ICE.”