Castle Rock, Colorado – President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to crack down on illegal immigration has heightened partisan divides between deep-blue Denver and its conservative neighbors, including the town of Castle Rock, which has pledged support for Trump's upcoming immigration policies.
“Denver does not represent the entire state of Colorado, and Denver certainly does not represent Douglas County,” Castle Rock Rep. Max Brooks, a newly sworn member of the Colorado House of Representatives, told Fox News Digital ahead of Inauguration Day.
The town council unanimously approved Brooks' measure last month, saying it "strongly supports President-elect Donald Trump's proposal to address this country's growing immigration crisis through mass deportations of unauthorized immigrants."
The measure also expresses Castle Rock's willingness to "cooperate with federal immigration officials" in their efforts.
Castle Rock is the most populous town in Douglas County, Colorado, located south of Denver. Officials in conservative districts say they have been negatively affected by the state's de facto sanctuary status. (Alba Cubas-Fantazi/Fox News Digital)
Colorado town unanimously declares non-asylum status as nearby Denver grapples with immigration: 'No room'
Brooks said the measure was a direct response to actions by the city of Denver, where Mayor Mike Johnston suggested in November that city police could be deployed to fend off federal immigration officials. Johnston later retracted that statement.
The mile-high city also welcomed nearly 43,000 immigrants from December 2022 to last summer, according to city data. Denver closed its last migrant shelter in early October, citing a lack of demand, as new arrivals fell around the same time President Joe Biden took executive action to stem the flow of migrants across the southern border.
"You can't bring (43,000) people into Denver and think they're going to stay within the city," Brooks said. "They're going to be spread across the entire Front Range, which makes this a problem in Colorado."
Some locals told Fox News Digital they haven't personally seen their neighbors to the north affected by the influx of illegal immigrants, but Brooks said there are still signs. He pointed to the Douglas County Jail, which held 369 inmates on Thursday, 15 percent of whom were non-U.S. citizens.
Crews from the city and county of Denver prepare to transport people to shelters or housing on January 3, 2024. Some 43,000 migrants have arrived in the city since December 2022, although the surge has slowed in recent months. (Hyoung Chang/Denver Post)
'Fix the damn problem': Coloradans pushed to edge by Denver's immigration crisis
one viral video Last August, the incident involving Venezuelan gang members who allegedly carried guns through an Aurora apartment complex put Colorado at the center of the national immigration debate. Then-candidate Trump visited the city last fall and vowed to "accelerate the removal of these brutal gangs."
A Castle Rock resident who says he immigrated legally from Brazil has trouble judging those who may be in the U.S. illegally
"It's hard because they're escaping poverty, violence, crime or whatever they're escaping," he said. "For them to take this step in their lives and be in such a vulnerable place, it must be a terrible situation out there."
But Catherine, who said she immigrated legally from Colombia to Colorado two years ago after a nine-year process, said there is a "need for stricter" border enforcement.
"If you don't control the rules, maybe in the future, your country will be like ours," she said.
Catherine said she immigrated to Colorado two years ago after a nine-year process. She expressed hope that the government would make it easier for people to immigrate legally, but also said the United States needs to protect its borders. (Alba Cubas-Fantazi/Fox News Digital)
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Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, has long pushed back against the notion that Colorado is a "sanctuary state," but Brooks said towns like Castle Rock are subject to state law that prohibits police from cooperating with immigration officials. Seriously hindered.”
"Words don't matter, actions matter," Brooks said. "We want police to be police. We want police to do their job."
Recently, Polis said he welcomes federal help in removing criminals and gang members, but that "hunting down law-abiding Coloradans who may have been here for 20, 30 years" will be fought.
Douglas County previously sued the state over its sanctuary policies, but a district court dismissed the suit last month. Brooks said municipalities are considering new legal action but are waiting to see how things change under Trump.
"We know we're going to secure our southern border," he said. "So we know that Denver is not going to continue to bring illegal immigrants here as much as they would like."