Last Wednesday, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston was grilled during a six-hour long House of Representatives hearing on the city’s immigration policies and alleged “harboring of undocumented immigrants.”
Johnston was joined by other Democratic mayors during the hearing held by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and New York City Mayor Eric Adams were also questioned on their city’s immigration policies with undocumented immigrants.
Chairman of the Committee, James Comer, questioned the mayors on their policies that create a “sanctuary for criminals” and vowed to hold them accountable for “their failure to follow the law and protect the American people.” He also suggested that the mayors need to cooperate more with the deportation efforts of the Donald Trump administration.
Johnston faced tough questioning from members of the committee, including Colorado House Representatives Lauren Boebert, Gabe Evans, Jeff Hurd and Jeff Crank.
Johnston began his testimony by pointing to the influx of immigrants Denver received when he entered office in July 2023. The city received 42,000 immigrants in an 18-month timeframe, and Johnston said it was his obligation “to protect the health and safety of everyone in Denver.”
“We are each entitled to our own opinion about what should happen at the border,” Johnston said. “But that was not the question facing Denver. The question Denver faced is: what will you do with a mom and two kids dropped on the streets of our city with no warm clothes, no food and no place to stay?”
Johnston also testified that the city has seen a reduction in crime since the influx of migrants and the city has reduced all migrant homeless encampments.
Boebert pressed Johnston during her five allotted minutes on a Colorado state law that limits the state government’s coordination with federal immigration authorities. She also questioned the mayor on a city ordinance, passed in 2017, that prohibits city employees from asking about someone’s immigration status or reporting it to federal immigration authorities.
Johnston assured the committee that Denver “cooperates with [Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE)]” and said Denver has notified ICE when a person wanted on an immigration warrant is going to be released from a local jail. Johnston said the city has passed 1,226 such notifications to ICE in the past seven years.
Johnston also faced aggressive questioning from Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, who pressed the mayor for the Feb. 28 release of an alleged Venezuelan gang member that ended in an officer being assaulted.
Abraham Gonzalez was arrested in March 2024 and spent the last 11 months in Denver County Jail for several violent felony charges. His charges were dropped and the jail notified ICE an hour before he was to be released, 47 hours less than the required notification, according to Colo. Rep. Hurd.
Surveillance posted on the Denver Department of Public Safety’s YouTube account showed Gonzalez running from ICE officials as he was released from the county jail. He allegedly bit an officer and caused injuries, according to testimony from the congressional hearing and an X post from ICE.
Jordan pressed the mayor for the timeliness of the release notification and said, “An officer got hurt, because of your policy.” Johnston defended his city’s policy and claimed “this is the first time” he’s been made aware of an incident like this.
Johnston said he reached out to ICE after the incident and is considering “making adjustments” to how the city and county release inmates to ICE.
Several Republican members of the House committee called for criminal charges against the mayors, but it’s unclear whether federal charges will be filed against Johnston. The Department of Justice is currently investigating Chicago and New York City for their “sanctuary” policies, but it’s also unclear if Denver will be investigated as well.
President Trump and Republicans have vowed to cut federal funding from cities that promote “sanctuary” policies. According to the Denver Post, approximately $150 million of Denver’s 2025 $4.4 billion budget is federal funding.
“We don’t have any more information on what comes next,” Johnston said. “I think we will keep going about our business running the city. If there are other questions… we will be responsive, but we don’t have any presumption of what the next steps are.”
