Competing measures formally articulating how Denver law enforcement interacts with federal immigration authorities and laws have set the stage for a City Hall showdown.

Just hours before City Council members were set to consider in committee a new ordinance authored by council members Robin Kniech and Paul Lopez on immigration enforcement (it  passed 6-1), Denver Mayor Michael Hancock unveiled his own executive order Wednesday.

The rival, proposed policies are fairly similar, however.

Both would keep Denver out of immigration-enforcement efforts, including Denver police and the Sheriff’s Department, leaving it to the federal government.

As Hancock characterized it in a fact sheet detailing his executive order, the new policy would “formally remove Denver from immigration enforcement by memorializing the city’s policies that keep those duties with the federal government.”

Additionally, local authorities would not honor federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer requests asking undocumented immigrants be held past their release date. ICE agents would be banned from secured areas in county jails when trying to detain an undocumented immigrant without a warrant.

Uniquely, Hancock’s executive order would create a legal defense fund – which would be funded through Jan 20, 2021, the duration of President Donald Trump’s current term in the White House – to provide immigrants facing deportation with legal representation.

The mayor’s executive order would also create a working group to track changes in federal immigration law and monitor city policy regarding immigration, keep the city in the federal U-Visa program and assist children and families who become separated through the immigration process.

During a committee hearing Wednesday, Lopez said the core concern of the new proposed ordinance is public safety. Denver’s undocumented immigrant population, some 55,000 residents, should feel safe to report crimes in the community without fear of exposure to ICE.

“This bill is a manifestation of months of hard work, it represents trust, it represents community trust, it represents input from several departments, input from our colleagues, input from the administration,” Lopez said. “This bill represents that balance.”

Hancock said in a statement both his proposed executive order and the City Council’s efforts are advantageous and show the city’s commitment to immigrants.

“Whether it is in the form of a city ordinance or an executive order, we will be taking additional steps to stand with our immigrant and refugee community and protect their safety and rights,” Hancock said.

But a coalition of immigrant activist groups including the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition and Colorado’s People Alliance that worked with council members on the ordinance argue Hancock’s order doesn’t go far enough to protect Denver’s undocumented immigrants.

Community leaders labored extensively with Lopez and Kniech to draft the policy, while Hancock introduced his executive order less than 24 hours before the committee hearing, the group said.

“Our coalition of community organizations request that Mayor Hancock join our existing efforts and follow the lead of his Denver constituents, who are living in fear yet are boldly pushing for policy that benefits our city,” the groups said.

Noted Denver immigration lawyer Hans Meyer also criticized the mayor’s timing and executive order, accusing Hancock of cherry picking the parts of the City Council ordinance that make for easy sound bites.

“Hancock’s proposed executive order fails to extract Denver probation officers, city employees, and jail personnel from colluding with ICE to deport immigrant community members,” Meyer said in a statement. “Those protections matter if an executive order is to have any meaning.”