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First, we want to add some context to a country inundated with reports of the assassination of Mayor Mike Johnston. bizarre rhetoric about an impending impasse between Denver police and federal forces or immigration officials. Most Americans probably don’t know that Johnston has worked tirelessly throughout his career to protect America’s Dreamers – people who were brought to America illegally as children.
President Donald Trump failed to deport Dreamers in his first term only because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that his administration acted arbitrarily and capriciously to strip them of their legal status.
He has pledged to be more successful in deporting Dreamers — many of whom are now adults who own homes, have children who are U.S. citizens and are productive members of our community — during his second term, which begins in a few months.
We are not surprised that Johnston has recklessly pushed the rhetoric around protecting Coloradans without legal immigration status. But that doesn’t make it okay.
If Americans want to protect our friends and neighbors from Trump’s aggressive efforts to strip them of their legal status and have them deported, we must maintain the moral high ground.
Thousands of Coloradans—those with Temporary Protected Status, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, Humanitarian Parole, and Asylum Protection—are at risk of Trump stripping them of their legal status and deporting them, regardless of their families, their careers, or the dangers they face. guards in their country of origin.
Trump has used bizarre rhetoric, portraying these individuals as criminals of the worst kind – rapists and murderers – who have poisoned the blood of America. Trump has said he will use military force to round up and deport people without permanent legal status. We cannot stoop to his level by promising a violent confrontation to prevent such a travesty. That’s what Trump wants: to plunge America into chaos and conflict.
Instead, the way forward is one of smart resistance.
Denver police should turn violent criminals over to deportation officials. It’s a simple position that The Denver Post has tirelessly supported: The price of staying in America for people without legal status is strict compliance with our laws. The vast majority of immigrants understand this responsibility. Even those here with a green card worry about minor violations, like speeding tickets.
However, there are clear cases where deportation is the right answer.
Jesus Alberto Pereira Castillo has been arrested on charges of raping a 14-year-old girl in Jefferson County. This man should be deported. The confusion over whether or not a sanctuary city would protect someone accused of rape from deportation led to the election of Donald Trump. Of course, sanctuary cities do not protect rapists from deportation, but the American legal system is clear that everyone in this country receives due process of law and human rights, regardless of immigration status.
Johnston must choose his words carefully.
Coloradans will happily turn criminals over to Trump’s operation to deport as many people as possible. But our friends and neighbors are off-limits, and any attempt to strip them of their legal status and deport them to countries they often don’t even remember will be opposed by every legal tool available to this state, our cities , our provinces, our churches and our individual households. Johnston should keep his comments away from violent conflict and focus on peaceful resistance.
Trump’s federal officials can demand that people on the streets of Colorado see proof of citizenship, but Coloradans can refuse to obey the unlawful order to show proof of citizenship.
The U.S. government already knows the home and work address of every deferred action person in Colorado. This is a dangerous time, but we can protect Dreamers without armed conflict at the border.
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