Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D) doubled down on his position to resist the mass deportations that President-elect Donald Trump promised to implement on his first day in office next year.
Johnston previously stated he would deploy the Denver Police Department to the county line to prevent federal and military forces from entering the jurisdiction. Johnston told KUSA he believes such an operation by the federal government would be “illegal,” “immoral,” and “un-American.”
Johnston noted that the city does not want an armed conflict with the federal government but said, “We would do everything we can to resist [deportations]. We would look at legal options. We’ll look at ways to mobilize people civically. We’ll look at civil disobedience. All of those are options.”
When pressed about whether the city will encourage people to protest, the mayor reiterated that the city will look at all options.
When asked about incoming border czar Tom Homan’s warning of arresting leaders who interfere with deportation plans, Johnston said he is willing to get arrested during a protest if he believes an operation the federal government is carrying out is illegal.
‘Read about that and don’t cross that line, because it’s a felony to harbor and conceal an illegal alien from ICE.’
“I’m not afraid of that, and I’m also not seeking that. I think the goal is we want to be able to negotiate with reasonable people on how to solve hard problems,” he said, going on to make misleading claims that the Biden-Harris administration worked on “restricting entry at the border.”
Johnston also compared himself to former Colorado Governor Ralph Lawrence Carr (R), who opposed throwing American citizens of Japanese descent into internment camps during World War II.
“If the president or any of his actors are going to do things that we think are illegal or immoral or un-American, we’ll stand up against those,” he added.
Johnston is the latest Democrat to publicly oppose the planned deportation operations of the new Trump administration. Los Angeles City Council member Hugo Soto-Martinez told CNN the city stands with the illegal immigrant community.
“But what we are sending as L.A. City officials is that the city of Los Angeles will not participate in any collaboration with ICE and that we as city officials will do our best to keep families together and protect people,” he said.
Homan has warned Democratic leaders not to interfere with or obstruct any federal operations because doing so would violate Title 8 U.S.C. § 1324.
“They need to educate themselves. They need to review this: Title 8 U.S.C. § 1324. Read about that and don’t cross that line, because it’s a felony to harbor and conceal an illegal alien from ICE. Don’t cross that line,” Homan said last week.
Homan made it clear that the operations will happen, with or without support from local leaders.
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