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A federal judge rejected the Department of Justice’s (DoJ) challenge to Colorado’s “sanctuary” laws.
The DoJ claimed the policies interfered with enforcement of federal immigration laws.
“Our nation was founded on a system of ‘duel sovereignty,’ in which ‘citizens would have two political capacities, one state and one federal, each protected from incursion by the other,’” U.S. District Judge Gordon Gallagher wrote.
Judge Gallagher said nobody has ever interpreted the Constitution to mean Congress has the ability to force states to govern according to its diktats.
“If Congress were authorized to dictate the allocation of state resources, the balance of power contemplated by our Constitution would be upended. Federal law permits the federal government to contract with state and local governments to further federal immigration enforcement but does not require such.”
Gallagher also said that immigration detainers—explicit requests to state or local law enforcement—do not compel compliance: They are voluntary requests.
The DoJ had argued that sanctuary policies violate the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.
Three separate motions to dismiss the claim were filed by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, the Colorado General Assembly, Denver’s Attorney General Philip Weiser, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, and Denver Sheriff Elias Diggins, a former president of the American Jail Association.
The ruling was celebrated by Mayor Johnston in an Instagram post.
“Denver will always stand for safe communities and accountable government,” Johnson wrote.
“Today’s ruling makes clear that we cannot be required to use local resources to enforce federal policies.”
The Trump administration has made sanctuary jurisdictions one of the main targets of its immigration policies.
There are around 220 sanctuary jurisdictions in the US today.
Sanctuary jurisdictions, which refuse to cooperate with federal immigration operations, were a major target during President Trump’s first term. He signed an executive order to withdraw federal grants from jurisdictions based on their immigration policies. In 2018, that order was blocked, before the block was overturned in 2020.
During the 2024 election campaign, President Trump promised that he would abolish sanctuary jurisdictions if elected.
Attorney General Pam Bondi targeted these jurisdictions immediately upon her confirmation, ordering federal funding to them to be paused and a full investigation of all funding agreements these jurisdictions have with NGOs that offer assistance to illegal aliens. She has also launched a number of lawsuits against sanctuary cities, including Chicago and New York.
