Denver Mayor Michael Hancock’s office spoke out on Thursday in opposition of a federal appeals court decision Wednesday that ruled the U.S. Department of Justice can deny grant money to so-called sanctuary cities and states that refuse to provide information to federal immigration officials.

The grant program awards about $250 million a year to help reduce gang violence in prisons, improve 911 call systems, enhance crime laboratories’ capabilities and build investigative task forces. 

“To put the safety of entire communities at risk by withholding funding that cities have a right to receive is dangerous,” mayor’s office spokesman Mike Strott told Colorado Politics in an email. “While this ruling doesn’t affect Denver at the moment, this continued assault on immigrant communities by this administration remains very troubling. Our ordinance and our approach follow federal law – we’ve already beaten the Trump administration in court over this issue, and if we have to, we’ll do it again.”

The unanimous ruling from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals symbolized a loss for New York City and the seven states – Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and Washington – that sued the federal government in 2018. 

The lawsuits claimed that, since July 2017, the Justice Department has wrongfully forced sanctuary jurisdictions to inform federal agents when immigrants living in the country illegally were going to be released from police detainment.   

Three other federal courts, in California, Illinois and Pennsylvania, have since ruled that it is unconstitutional to deny anti-crime funds from sanctuary communities. 

“The Second Circuit ruling on this matter is the only ruling in favor of the Trump administration,” Ryan Luby, spokesman for the Denver City Attorney’s Office, wrote in an email. “It is a significant departure from rulings in the Ninth, Seventh and Third Circuits. If the Supreme Court were to eventually address the circuit split in favor of the Second Circuit’s interpretation, it could directly impact our ability to provide victim services.”

He added: “The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently granted the US Conference of Mayors, of which Denver is a member, a permanent injunction, preventing the Department of Justice from imposing grant restrictions similar to those imposed in the Second Circuit case.” 

Meanwhile, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is taking Denver to federal court to force the city’s sheriff to comply with subpoenas seeking more information about jail detainees who were in custody or recently released. The Justice Department filed a motion Feb. 6 on behalf of ICE. 

“The individuals that fail to comply [with the subpoenas] could be held in contempt,” deputy ICE director Matthew Albence said during a Jan. 23 press conference in Washington, D.C. “They can show up to court with a toothbrush, because they might not be going home that night, because they could be jailed for failure to comply with a lawful order from a judge.” 

The Denver City Attorney’s Office has said that the city won’t comply with the subpoenas because they aren’t signed by a judge, and that the city doesn’t share information that will be used to enforce immigration law. 

State Rep. Dave Williams, Republican from Colorado Springs, asked the Trump administration to review the policies of Denver and other cities, as he’s tried to hold cities such as Denver responsible for violence perpetrated by undocumented immigrants. Democratic majorities in the General Assembly have snuffed out his legislation, however.

Williams, whose mother is Hispanic, has advised President Trump on immigration issues during a visit to the White House. He also met with the president last week, when Trump held a campaign rally in Colorado Springs.

“The court’s decision reinforces President Trump’s rightful authority to ensure that taxpayer grant money isn’t handed over to lawless sanctuary cities, like Denver, who continually attempt to thwart immigration enforcement efforts while wrongly expecting taxpayers to financially reward them to do so,” he told Colorado Politics Thursday evening. “Hopefully, this court decision paves the way for further crackdowns against sanctuary cities and illegal aliens in Colorado.”

Joey Bunch contributed to this report.