Unanimous Denver City Council Passes Ordinance Protecting Immigrants

Jon Murray, Denver Post, Aug. 29, 2017 - "An elevated immigration policy stance approved Monday night by the Denver City Council boils down easily: Don’t ask about anyone’s status, don’t share it and don’t help federal authorities with enforcement. ... The new ordinance is packed with many details, including several exceptions, but the message that rang through the council’s chambers during a hearing Monday night was clear: In an age when the Trump administration has intensified a crackdown on illegal immigration, Denver and its city leaders should stand publicly with the immigrants who face a constant risk of deportation. The council approved the measure, called the Public Safety Enforcement Priorities Act, on a 10-0 vote. ... Denver’s formalized stance is a mix of existing policies and practices that have been newly codified, along with a few new ones. Among those is a new rule barring the city’s jails from allowing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents access to secure areas for inmate interviews without a judicial warrant.  But the city, at the insistence of Mayor Michael Hancock, still will notify ICE of impending releases of immigrants of interest, although usually not with the 48-hour notice officials have requested — and with the addition of rights advisements given to affected inmates. That is among exceptions that make Denver’s ordinance more moderate than some so-called “sanctuary city” laws elsewhere."