Polis says Colorado isn’t a sanctuary state but the laws say otherwise

By The Gazette editorial board | Commentary, The Gazette

Gov. Jared Polis has distinguished himself in business and politics, yet he arguably missed his true calling — doing stand-up at a comedy club. He’d leave his audience in stitches.

Case in point: His thigh-slapper the other day — about Colorado not being a sanctuary state. He had us rolling on the floor. We were laughing through our tears, of course, given the toll illegal immigration has taken here. But there’s no denying the governor is a hoot.

He is in fact such a natural-born comic, his familiar, “Sanctuary? What sanctuary?” routine is uproarious even when delivered secondhand by his communications staff.

“Colorado is not a sanctuary state,” Polis’ office deadpanned in a news release Thursday for our news affiliate Colorado Politics. The straight-faced denial was issued in response to mounting pressure from the Trump administration on cities and states that are aiding and abetting illegal immigration in an attempt to monkey-wrench a federal crackdown.

While the Trump administration — and much of the electorate — might see it as no laughing matter, Polis responds to it with a wink and a wry smirk.

“The governor continues to be frustrated,” last week’s release insisted, “by this mistaken and incorrect label and the lack of transparency from the federal administration on this and many other items.”

In case there are any Coloradans who still need a recap as to why that’s so funny, we’ll oblige:

Our legislature passed — and Polis signed — laws curbing cooperation between local authorities and federal immigration agents. One of those laws, expanded this year, explicitly prohibits state agencies and political subdivisions from sharing or inquiring into anyone’s personal identifying information to enforce immigration laws. The law imposes a civil fine of $50,000 for each violation.

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Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.