Sanctuary list causes statewide scramble among counties

Updated at 3:56 p.m. on Friday, May 30, 2025

There may be no immediate fiscal impact to Colorado counties and cities that landed on a Trump administration list of immigration “sanctuary” jurisdictions, but the inclusion of so many places where Donald Trump has widespread support landed like a bomb on the Eastern Plains Friday.

"Surprised? Yes, it very much did surprise us. And we're working to find resolutions or meeting minutes where we explain that we are not a sanctuary county,” said Ty Harmon, Prowers County Commissioner. 

The list, which came out Thursday evening from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, was said by that agency to be “determined by factors like compliance with federal law enforcement, information restrictions, and legal protections for illegal aliens.”

But those criteria don’t explain why some counties that follow the same state laws and seemingly operate their jails and sheriff’s offices the same way as their neighbors, like Douglas County, somehow avoided inclusion while El Paso was initially branded as a sanctuary.

Douglas County Commissioner George Teal said he thinks he knows why. His county stands out because the commission has been outspoken about disagreeing with Colorado’s state laws that put restrictions on law enforcement helping ICE with civil immigration detentions, even if the county still follows those laws like its neighbors.

The county filed a lawsuit against the state for its sanctuary policies in January.

“I am certain that's the basis of us not being on that list is that we've been verbose in advocating for the state laws to number one, be overturned,” Teal said. 

Teal also said he thinks the commission was rewarded for its longstanding support of President Donald Trump and his policies.

“I think it is not only the speaking out, but it's the actual doing our best to take action that the president and his administration found to be worthy of recognizing that we're not a part of the sanctuary city or sanctuary county problem,” Teal said.

Several of the places on the list complained to Congressional representatives, and by about noon Friday, both El Paso and Weld counties had already been removed.

Smaller counties with less clout were scrambling to achieve the same outcome.

Commissioner Harmon of Prowers said they got word Thursday evening from U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert’s office about the designation. “We're working with the congresswoman and again our county attorney is also working hard on the situation to see what we need to do to get that changed." 

Harmon could not recall any incident that could have triggered placement on the list, which the Trump Administration has said could lead to the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants.

In last year’s election, President Donald Trump carried Prowers County, with 12,000 residents, by 51 points.  

In Kiowa County, just north of Prowers on the eastern plains, County Commissioner Howard “Butch” Robertson said he was also surprised to learn from an CPR News reporter that they were designated a sanctuary jurisdiction.

Are they a sanctuary county?

“No, we made a resolution a good while ago that we will not be a sanctuary county,” said Robertson. Trump carried Kiowa County by 74 points in 2024. Robertson said something is wrong with so many eastern plains counties making the list, like Baca, Cheyenne, Yuma, and Washington.

“I think that’s all wrong, because I think every county you just named off was like us, they made a resolution that they are not a sanctuary county,” said Robertson, who added that his next phone call would be trying to figure out what is going on.

Boebert’s office said they were trying to persuade DHS officials that counties in her district are not in violation of any federal law that could brand them as sanctuaries for people who are unlawfully present in the U.S.

"Congresswoman Boebert and her staff have been in contact with state legislators and county commissioners to procure any resolutions or documentations of them not being a sanctuary county that we can provide to DHS," said a Boebert aide.

Another Republican House aide, granted anonymity to speak on discussions around the list, said there was no warning or indication given to any of the offices that the list was coming out.

“What’s the criteria? What does it mean? How did you select them? When was the selection made? What data did you use? Who did you talk to?” were just some of the questions the aide said they were trying to get answers to. “All of our counties are freaking out.”

The aide added, “I think the administration has confused sanctuary counties, cities, municipalities, in Colorado specifically, some of those on the list were identified as 2A sanctuary cities.”

About half of Colorado counties had previously declared themselves “Second Amendment sanctuaries,” pledging not to spend money enforcing gun laws passed by the state legislature.

Part of the problem is that "sanctuary jurisdiction" is not really legally defined. It's more of a political term used by both sides of the long-running immigration debate. The term lets new arrivals know they are welcome in a community regardless of immigration status, but can also be used to shame communities that don't help in immigration enforcement as much as the current federal administration would like them too.

A spokesperson for GOP Rep. Gabe Evans' office said he has reached out to DHS to advocate for “the counties that are actually doing their job, such as Weld County, to come off this list.”

It worked, and Weld came off. The freshman Republican represents Weld, Adams and Larimer counties. Adams and Larimer remain on the list.

Evans’ spokesperson added, “Colorado is absolutely a sanctuary state and there are certainly counties on here, such as Arapahoe County … that belong on the list.”

That’s a differentiation argument that is likely to land in court. The state bars most local law enforcement from participating in federal enforcement of civil immigration laws. Jails, for example, can and do notify immigration authorities when inmates who may not be lawfully present in the country are released. But they are not allowed to hold them specifically to wait for agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to pick them up. That’s supposed to be the same statewide. 

But there are shades of cooperation with immigration enforcement. In some counties, ICE agents are invited into jails to take direct custody of detainees as they are released from criminal charges or sentences. In others, ICE is required to wait outside to then chase and grab the former inmate.

In contrast to some of the Eastern Plains counties, Boulder County's commissioners issued a statement Friday afternoon indicating they were fine with being on the list.

"If being a “sanctuary jurisdiction” means that we support due process of law and human rights, then we are proud of that moniker," read the statement, signed by all three county commissioners. "We act within the confines of the law and provide due process for everyone. Unlike the Trump Administration, we uphold our oath of office and are proud to support and follow federal, state, and local laws, including the U.S. Constitution."

In Denver, where inclusion on the list was hardly a surprise, a spokeswoman for Mayor Mike Johnston said the fact that DHS was making changes to the list hours after it was published was a clear indication that it was assembled hastily and without regard for policies and what works to reduce crime.

“Considering DHS has removed several Colorado counties from the list less than 24 hours after publishing, it doesn’t seem like they even know what their own criteria is,” she said. “Denver follows federal, state, and local laws and works with federal law enforcement to get criminals off the street. In fact, Denver has seen one of the largest drops in homicides in the country thanks to our law enforcement’s laser focus on preventing crime.” 

CPR News reached out to DHS and the White House for comment. The White House referred all questions to DHS, which did not respond.