Congress Targets Denver Over ICE, Cameras

House Republicans have opened a new inquiry into Denver’s immigration enforcement limits and its handling of license-plate reader data, widening a long-running federal clash with Colorado’s sanctuary-style policies. On May 20, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock and Colorado Rep. Gabe Evans sent letters to Denver District Attorney John Walsh, Denver Sheriff Elias Diggins and Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas demanding records and explanations. The committee said it is examining policies that limit cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and asked for information on detainers, communications with ICE and related internal practices. Denver’s rules on Flock Safety cameras are part of that backdrop because the city has separately barred federal immigration access to its local plate-reader data. ### Who in Denver is being asked to answer Congress? Jim Jordan’s May 20 letters were addressed to Walsh, Diggins and Thomas, according to the House Judiciary Committee’s Republican majority. The committee said the Denver officials must provide information about their offices’ “sanctuary policies” and their interactions with federal immigration authorities. (judiciary.house.gov) The Judiciary Committee announcement said similar letters also went to Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty, Boulder County Sheriff Curtis Johnson and Boulder Police Chief Stephen Redfearn. That makes the Denver requests part of a broader Colorado-focused review rather than a stand-alone inquiry. ### What are lawmakers asking about ICE detainers? (judiciary.house.gov) The House Judiciary Committee’s statement centered on ICE detainers, which are federal requests asking local jails to hold someone beyond the time they otherwise would be released. The committee said Denver has been “prohibited from complying with simple detainer requests” and cited one 2025 case involving Abraham Smith Gonzalez, whom it described as a suspected Tren de Aragua gang member released instead of being held for ICE. (judiciary.house.gov) The committee said ICE officers later tried to arrest him outside a Denver jail and that one officer was assaulted during the encounter. Colorado law is a key reason those detainers are contested. State law says local peace officers are prohibited from arresting or detaining someone solely on the basis of a civil immigration detainer, and it states that such detainers are not warrants under Colorado law. A 2025 state measure kept that restriction in place and expanded related limits on cooperation with federal civil immigration enforcement. (judiciary.house.gov) ### Where do Flock cameras enter the fight? Denver’s Flock Safety system is not named in the Judiciary press release about the Denver letters, but the city’s camera rules have become part of the larger Colorado dispute over immigration access to local policing tools. On Oct. 22, 2025, Mayor Mike Johnston announced a five-month, no-cost extension with Flock Safety and said Denver had shut off access to its license-plate reader data for all outside agencies pending new agreements. (leg.colorado.gov) Denver said any agency seeking access would have to sign a memorandum of understanding stating that sharing data with the federal government for civil immigration enforcement would trigger immediate loss of access and a referral to the Colorado attorney general. The city also said no federal agents would be allowed to search Denver’s data, even when assigned to a Denver task force. (denvergov.org) ### Why did Denver tighten those camera rules? Mike Johnston said in the October announcement that Denver wanted to be “just as tough on fighting crime” while protecting civil liberties. Police Chief Ron Thomas said the cameras had helped recover 39 firearms, make 352 arrests and recover more than 250 stolen vehicles since the pilot began in early 2024. (denvergov.org) 9News reported that Denver and Boulder changed how they handled Flock access after reporting in 2025 about federal use of local accounts and a previously undisclosed Border Patrol pilot program. According to that report, both cities said they had been unaware their camera data had been placed on Flock’s national network before moving to keep sharing local. (denvergov.org) ### How does this fit into the wider federal pressure on Denver? January 27, 2025, was an earlier marker in the dispute. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer sent Denver Mayor Mike Johnston a letter seeking documents about the city’s sanctuary policies and later called Denver’s mayor to testify at a February 2025 hearing with other big-city mayors. (9news.com) May 20, 2026, is the next concrete step. The Judiciary Committee’s new letters move the focus from the mayor’s office to Denver’s prosecutor, sheriff and police chief, and the committee said it is seeking records on policies, communications and enforcement practices tied to ICE cooperation. (judiciary.house.gov) (oversight.house.gov)