Back in 2017, Denver, Colorado followed the example of many other blue cities and passed an ordinance forbidding local officials from cooperating with ICE or honoring detainers against illegal immigrants. In February of 2018, the Mayor posted a message on social media platforms declaring that Denver was "an open and welcoming city" for migrants. They even set up a legal defense fund for illegal aliens in the midst of a crackdown on illegals during the Trump administration. Unsurprisingly, illegal migrants took them up on their offer. When Joe Biden took office and opened the borders, the numbers increased massively. Now the numbers have soared into the tens of thousands and the message from the city has changed. The gravy train is ending and the migrants will need to look elsewhere. (National Review)

In February 2018, Denver city leaders sent a valentine to foreigners interested in relocating to the progressive mountain city and a message to any elected officials looking to stop them.

If it wasn’t clear enough, then-mayor Michael Hancock posted on social media that it was a statement of “love” to let immigrants know that Denver is “an open and welcoming city.”

Denver leaders unfurled that welcome banner six months after they passed an ordinance curtailing the city’s ability to cooperate with federal immigration agents during a Trump-era crackdown on illegal immigration. Hancock also issued an executive order at the time directing city agencies to aid illegal immigrants in Denver and setting up a legal defense fund for them.

But six years later, amid a crisis that has seen more than 40,000 migrants arrive in the city since late 2022, Denver leaders appear to have a new message for some of their so-called “newcomers”: If you stay in Denver, you will suffer.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has tried to put out the message that the migrants need to move on. The city has spent at least $170 million on migrant care thus far. They have cut back on normal expenditures for taxpayer services and public improvement projects such as planting flowers in the parks. Johnston has suggested the migrants head to Chicago or New York, but both of those cities are already overflowing. So where will the migrants go?

Increasingly, officials in smaller towns near Denver have been trying to ensure that the migrants don't head their way. Smaller suburban cities such as Aurora, located to the east of Denver, have taken preemptive action. Aurora has passed a resolution asserting that they are a non-sanctuary community. A second resolution bars any municipal funds being spent on support for illegal migrants and states that no funds will be sent to alleviate the crisis in Denver. 

To the south of Denver, Douglas County passed a similar resolution declaring itself to be a non-sanctuary county. They went one step further, passing an ordinance barring commercial vehicles, including buses, from dropping people off anywhere in the county without prior authorization. On top of that, the county recently filed a lawsuit against the state of Colorado. They claim that state laws limiting the ability of local officials to cooperate with ICE are a violation of the state constitution.

Nearby El Paso County has joined that lawsuit. Their mayor similarly supported a non-sanctuary status resolution. She explained that El Paso County is a low-tax, largely rural area that doesn't have extra cash lying around to shelter migrants. She said that they have been "very clear" that they will prioritize the safety and needs of their own residents over any migrants who may attempt to migrate into the area from Denver.

It's amazing how much things can change in just a few short years. There is clearly a revolt taking place against Denver and the state government. Keep in mind that Colorado is a state that Joe Biden carried by almost 14 points in 2020. But now local officials across much of the state are sounding more and more like Donald Trump by the day. Proclaiming yourself to be a "sanctuary" for illegal aliens is a wonderful bit of virtue signaling for progressives, but only until the migrants begin taking you up on your offer. Then reality begins to set in, and reality is a harsh mistress.