'Obey the law': Conservative firebrand torches blue state immigration policies amid major lawsuit
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.., criticized Colorado leaders as the state and the city of Denver are currently being sued by the Department of Justice over their immigration policies, and shared how Congress can step in.
"[Denver] Mayor Mike Johnston was unwilling to change policies that don't even allow his city employees to coordinate with ICE agents. And that also is a coupling with Colorado state laws as well. And unfortunately, Gov. Jared Polis has not budged on those either. In fact, the Democrats who run our state legislature have gone even further. They want to expedite and make driver's licenses immediately available for those who are in our state illegally," Boebert told Fox News Digital in an interview on Tuesday.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in Colorado District Court, accuses the state and its most populous city of implementing "sanctuary laws" in violation of the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution. Colorado has become a national focal point, as it was revealed to be a hotbed for the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
"The United States has well-established, preeminent, and preemptive authority to regulate immigration matters," the lawsuit reads.
ICE enforces federal immigration laws across the country but regularly needs additional support from state and local officials, particularly for large-scale deportations. The agency also asks police departments and sheriff's offices to flag migrants it wants to deport and hold them until federal agents can take custody.
The Department of Justice has filed similar lawsuits challenging "sanctuary policies" in Rochester, New York, and Chicago.
"At a congressional level, other than codifying what President Trump is doing with his Executive Orders, we do have the power of the purse here in the House," the Republican said.
"And so we need to begin to withhold funding from these sanctuary cities and really empower those who are obeying federal laws to do that more, incentivizing them with those federal dollars and with programs that benefit their areas," she continued.
President Donald Trump recently put forth an Executive Order threatening to cut federal funding to "sanctuary jurisdictions" if those governments do not make serious changes.
However, Boebert had a straightforward message for Colorado leaders as the federal government continues its immigration crackdown. As the Trump administration marked its first 100 days last month, ICE noted the arrest and deportation of over 65,000 illegal aliens, thousands of whom had criminal charges or were already found guilty of a crime.
"Obey federal law. If you want these federal dollars to come back and bless Colorado, Colorado is a beautiful state, and they know that. And we want to encourage people to come to Colorado to be there, to be with us, and to have a safe community."
"Colorado is not a sanctuary state. The State of Colorado works with local, state and federal law enforcement regularly and we value our partnerships with federal law enforcement agencies to make Colorado safer," a spokesperson for Polis' office said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Mayor Mike Johnston's office for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Braveboy wins special election for new Prince George's County Executive
The Brief A special election is being held in Prince George's County Tuesday as residents decide on the next county executive. The election was triggered by the departure of former County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in November. Voters are choosing between two candidates: Democratic State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy and Republican Jonathan White. PRINCE GEORGE'S CO., Md. - Voters headed to the polls in Prince George's County on Tuesday for a special election to choose a new county executive. The race was between two candidates: Democratic State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy and Republican Jonathan White. Polls closed at 8 p.m. Just before 9 p.m., it was announced that Braveboy had won the election and she delivered a victory speech. READ MORE:Prince George's County Election Day: Voters to elect new County Executive Big picture view The election was triggered by the departure of former County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, whose move to a higher office — in the U.S. Senate — set off a chain reaction of vacancies and resignations across local government. The winner of the election will serve the remaining two years of Alsobrooks' term. Whoever wins will inherit a series of major challenges. This year alone, Prince George's County has seen the Washington Commanders announce plans to return to D.C., the cancellation of the new FBI headquarters project and confirmation that Six Flags will close at the end of the year. Braveboy previously told FOX 5 that she views these issues as opportunities and is especially concerned about the impact on federal employees in the county. "I recognize how critical the federal government has been to the success of Prince George's County," she said. "But that is not our only success. What we have to do now is shift. We have to pivot, and we have to grow our commercial tax base and bring more industry into Prince George's County." "It affects everything," she added. "It affects also our tax base, because a lot of these federal government employees are also homeowners. They own property here in Prince George's County, so we are very concerned about our federal employees." Like Alsobrooks, Braveboy currently serves as Prince George's County State's Attorney. However, Alsobrooks did not endorse her, instead backing another candidate in the Democratic primary. What they're saying Election officials say they have seen strong turnout through early voting and mail-in ballots. Still, turnout in special elections—especially in June—can be a challenge. But many voters say they believe showing up to the polls is part of their civic duty. "I care about who is going to be our county executive, so it's important as taxpayers as we move along," one voter said. "We have to support our candidates. We have to make sure voting counts. It's a privilege to make sure we do it every year," another voter added. "Democracy. Representation. And in order to have representation, you have to participate," another told FOX 5. Some voters stressed that local elections matter just as much as national ones. "Local elections, in my opinion, are almost more important—or just as important—as voting in national elections," one resident said. "I teach my kids about the election to understand it's our right to vote. It's given to us," said one parent. What's next Braveboy was considered the front-runner in the race and held her rally in Lanham Tuesday night. FOX 5 reached out to Republican Jonathan White, who responded by email that he was not available for an interview.
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Voters return to the polls today for general election
TUPELO — Voters will return to the polls today for the final municipal election of the year, with two of Tupelo's seven seats still up for grabs. The polls are open today from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Residents from Ward 3 and Ward 5 have their chance to decide who will represent their area for the next four years. In Ward 3, incumbent Republican Travis Beard, a retired teacher, will face Democrat Shirley Hendrix, owner of R&B Specialty Printing. Beard is running for a third full term. Neither opponent had challengers during the April 1 primary elections, which secured their seats without need for voting. In Ward 5, Democrat Candria Lewis and Republican Bentley Nolan both hope to take the seat left vacant when incumbent Republican Councilman Buddy Palmer, who decided not to run for reelection, leaves the council in July. While Nolan defeated two Republican opponents in the primary and subsequent runoff election, Lewis had no primary opposition. Whomever claims the reins for Ward 3 and Ward 5 will join the other candidates who either won in the primary election or ran unopposed. They include Republican Ward 1 Councilman Chad Mims, Republican Ward 2 Councilman Lynn Bryan, Democrat Ward 4 Councilwoman Nettie Davis, Republican Ward 6 Councilwoman Janet Gaston, Democrat Ward 7 Councilwoman Rosie Jones and Republican Mayor Todd Jordan. New terms will begin July 1, giving Palmer one more month as part of the council before becoming councilman emeritus.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Oil prices slip as rising OPEC+ output, tariff fears weigh on outlook
By Yuka Obayashi TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices edged lower in early Asian trade on Wednesday, weighed down by a loosening supply-demand balance following increasing OPEC+ output and lingering concerns over the global economic outlook due to tariff tensions. Brent crude futures dipped 5 cents, or 0.1%, to $65.58 a barrel by 0040 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $63.32 a barrel, down 9 cents, or 0.1%. Both benchmarks climbed about 2% on Tuesday to a two-week high, supported by worries over supply disruptions from Canadian wildfires and expectations that Iran will reject a U.S. nuclear deal proposal that is key to easing sanctions on the major oil producer. "Despite fears over Canadian supply and stalled Iran-U.S. nuclear talks, oil markets are struggling to extend gains," said Tsuyoshi Ueno, senior economist at NLI Research Institute, adding that OPEC+ production increases were capping the upside. Ueno said hopes for progress in U.S.-China trade talks were overshadowed by profit-taking, as investors remained cautious over the broader economic fallout from tariffs. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will likely speak this week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday, days after Trump accused China of violating an agreement to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions. As the Trump administration pressed U.S. trading partners to provide their best offers by Wednesday, the protracted negotiations and moving deadlines have led economists to scale back growth forecasts. On Tuesday, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) cut its global growth forecast as the fallout from Trump's trade war takes a bigger toll on the U.S. economy. Meanwhile, scores of wildfires have swept across Canada since the start of May, forcing thousands of evacuations and disrupting crude oil production in the country. U.S. crude stocks fell by 3.3 million barrels in the week ended May 30, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. Gasoline inventories rose by 4.7 million barrels and distillate stocks rose by about 760,000 barrels. [API/S] A Reuters poll of nine analysts estimated an average draw of 1 million barrels in crude stocks. [EIA/S] Official inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due on Wednesday.
