By Brennen Kauffman | Denver Gazette
Colorado Springs is still not a “sanctuary city.”
The City Council drove the point home on Tuesday morning by passing a resolution affirming the stance.
The resolution introduced by Councilmember Roland Rainey was along similar lines as resolutions the council passed in both February and September 2024 saying the city was not a sanctuary city. The council statements do not change any city laws or ordinances.
Four new council members have joined the dais since the last version of the proclamations, including Rainey and Gold, but the outcome of the vote was along similar lines. The resolution passed 7-2 with opposition from Nancy Henjum and Kimberly Gold, who said the city should use funding to support law enforcement instead of words.
“We need to prioritize solutions and not resolutions. What are we doing up here? Are we doing public service or are we doing political theater?” Councilmember Kimberly Gold said.
The resolutions were met with public pushback at all three council meetings. Opponents Tuesday said the measure was redundant and seemed like a broadly hostile stance to take against immigrants who arrived in the city for many reasons.
The statement reaffirmed that Colorado Springs is a “non-sanctuary city” that would not spend resources on “the immigration crisis” but that the city welcomes legal immigrants. The resolution also states that the city supports law enforcement officials who are handling immigration at the local, state and federal levels, which is a larger focus of this measure compared to the previous versions.
The new resolution comes in the weeks after the Colorado Springs Police Department worked with the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement on an April 27 nightclub raid. ICE stated last week that at least 18 of the more than 100 individuals arrested during the raid were flagged for deportation.