Executive order claims city has right to detain, investigate federal ICE officers
The idea is “legally illiterate,” according to the federal government through the Department of Homeland Security. But that isn’t stopping officials in the leftist and declining city of Denver from going there.
“There” is an order from the mayor, Mike Johnston, instructing Denver police to detain federal law enforcement officers they think are using “excessive force,” to investigate “crimes” by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, and in other ways prevent the federal government from its duty to enforce immigration laws.
It comes after the riots and other violence from anti-ICE activists in the Minnesota region where thousands of arrests have been made in recent weeks.
Tragically, two anti-ICE agitators there were shot and killed by police, allegedly while interfering with federal officers doing their duty. One woman was shot while driving her car at, and hitting, a federal agent. The circumstances of the other shooting remain less clear.
Johnston confirmed the anti-law enforcement agenda he has adopted.
MILE HIGH STANDOFF: Denver Democratic Mayor Mike Johnston says he’s directing city authorities to detain ICE agents if they’re seen “using excessive force,” or if one “assaults or shoots or kills” civilians.
Johnston said he would not abide by “abduction[s]” of residents,… pic.twitter.com/JgGnDsNle6
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 27, 2026
The DHS response? Johnston is “legally illiterate.”
JUST IN: The Department of Homeland Security has responded to Mayor Mike Johnston’s executive order banning ICE from public property. pic.twitter.com/oQRVuGrEcN
— Denver7 News (@DenverChannel) February 27, 2026
ICE already has been in operation in Denver, protecting its residents from criminal elements.
ICE Denver arrested Pedro Enrique Zayas Rodriguez a criminal alien from Cuba. He has convictions for dangerous drug poss., robbery w/intent to kill, 2nd degree assault on peace officer. He was ordered removed from the US in 2014 and will remain in ICE custody pending removal. pic.twitter.com/ZpWRLIFvVk
— ICE Denver (@ERODenver) February 8, 2026
ICE Denver arrested Juan Carlos Membreno Portillo, in Grand Junction, Colo., Feb. 16. Membreno is a known MS-13 gang member and is wanted in El Salvador for aggravated terrorist organization membership. He will be held in ICE custody pending his removal from the US. pic.twitter.com/2fTqrtieWH
— ICE Denver (@ERODenver) February 18, 2026
ICE arrests 243 illegals in the Denver area in a week-long operation pic.twitter.com/nF3GNvQjUa
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 24, 2025
Johnston also claimed the city won’t allow federal officers to “stand in our way” where emergency responders must render aid.
The Democrat-run city, inside the Democrat-run state where Democrats on the state Supreme Court were so extreme as to try to banish President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot, is positioning itself to confront federal law enforcement requirements.
Colorado officials already have created an online portal for people to submit claims they make about misbehavior by federal officers.
The Democrat-majority legislature also is working on a plan for residents to sue.
Both Denver and Colorado have long adopted “sanctuary” policies, which refer to laws or ordinances that limit or prohibit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Johnston’s rhetoric takes the battle up a notch.
“If we see any ICE officer using excessive force against the Denver resident, we will step in to detain that officer and remove them from the situation,” Johnston complained. “We hold our own officers to that standard, and we will hold any ICE agent to the same. If an ICE agent assaults or shoots or kills a civilian in Denver, we will investigate and prosecute that crime as the facts demand, regardless of what the federal government does.”
He’s also banned federal officers from staging on city property, mandates the use of body cameras for “evidence,” claims to provide for protection of First Amendment rights, and bars federal officers from places like schools, churches, stadiums, libraries, and hospitals.
Denver’s lawyer, Miko Brown, claimed the order provides a “menu” of legal maneuvers that could be used, including civil and criminal cases, or injunctions.
One report suggested that Johnston’s actions are “poking the bear.”
The region in recent months has been the center of significant violent gang activity, to the point one gang simply took over some apartments, collected rent from residents and refused to give it to the owners.
Federal officials issued the comment, “This is legally illiterate. No local official has the authority to bar ICE from carrying out federal law on public property—just as they cannot bar the media from reporting on city streets. Enforcing federal immigration laws is a clear federal responsibility under Article I, Article II and the Supremacy Clause.”
The statement continued, “While Mayor Johnston continues to release pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and murderers onto their streets, our brave law enforcement will continue to risk their lives to arrest these heinous criminals and make Denver safe again.”
The city already has seen its murder rate drop significant, a move that corresponds to Trump’s first year in office where he deported hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens, including many with other criminal counts on their record.