Immigrant rights leaders are applauding Denver for nearing a final agreement on an ordinance that would protect immigrants from a federal crackdown.

City leaders this week announced plans to prohibit city employees from releasing immigration information, an exchange of data that can lead to deportation or other federal enforcement activities.

Estimates place the city’s undocumented immigrant population at around 50,000.

The proposed ordinance comes as state and city leaders are encouraging the White House to maintain a federal Obama-era program that allows students who came to the United States illegally before their 16th birthday a chance to stay in the country legally.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, is under fire, as 10 Republican attorneys general – led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton – have threatened to sue the Trump administration if it does not repeal the program.

In an editorial that appeared on Fox News, Paxton said DACA “triggers numerous consequences.”

“We learned that DACA recipients have even been given Green Cards, and thus a pathway to citizenship-despite the Obama administration’s initial pledge that DACA does not confer such a legal path to citizenship,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, fears continue to swell in immigrant communities over a potential federal crackdown of undocumented immigrants who were not brought to the United States as children.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock initially proposed an executive order that would essentially curb the federal government’s reach over arresting immigrants, though questions remain as to how effective it would be against federal immigration officers.

The Denver City Council separately considered a stronger ordinance that would limit information-sharing with the federal government on undocumented immigrants.

The consensus proposal would still allow the Denver Sheriff’s Department to notify ICE about inmates who are released from jail, which had been a sticking point in the conversation.

The proposal, however, could put the city at odds with the federal government, including losing certain funding.

“The most significant achievements within this policy are the bright line ending communication and collaboration between nearly all City of Denver employees and ICE officials, the advisement of rights that will be given to all detainees of their constitutional rights if ICE attempts to request any information from the Denver sheriffs, and a commitment from the mayor to continue working with the community organizations who have been working on these issues for years,” said Julie Gonzales, political director for the Meyer Law Office, which focuses on immigration law.

“We appreciate the courage of our city council and our mayor to give voice to the will of our community and stand up to ICE’s attempts to dragoon Denver into perpetuating its mass deportation agenda,” said Hans Meyer, founder of the Meyer Law Office.

“Today stands as an unequivocal call to all communities in Colorado to stand up for families against the brutality of the Trump administration. Because ICE continues to be an unaccountable rogue agency, Denver will continue to stand up to defend our families, friends, and neighbors.”