Douglas County commissioners unanimously voted to approve an ordinance this week that takes aim at Colorado’s “sanctuary” laws by prohibiting commercial vehicles from making unscheduled stops in unincorporated Douglas County to drop off immigrants.

The new ordinance simultaneously targets so-called “sanctuary” cities and efforts lawmakers around the country have made to offload immigrants elsewhere. This includes political stunts targeting Democrats — as seen with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s busing campaign — or an onward travel strategy employed by Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and others that transports immigrants onto their final destination.

Commercial drivers who violate the new ordinance could face a fine of up to $1,000 per passenger, in addition to vehicle seizure.

“Our primary responsibility is to those who are legally here,” Board of County Commissioners Vice-Chair Abe Laydon said. “Again, we support legal immigration, not illegal immigration.”

Commissioners approved the emergency measure during a special meeting Tuesday, after which it immediately went into effect.

The ordinance bars commercial buses from unloading passengers “other than at a planned and scheduled documented destination,” a clear attempt to prevent immigrants from arriving unannounced at the county’s doorstep, as has happened in Denver.

Douglas County commissioners also directed the county attorney to “pursue legal action to permit the county to fully cooperate with federal law enforcement,” which gets at Colorado’s “sanctuary” laws.

Generally, a “sanctuary” jurisdiction is one that establishes policies to discourage local law enforcement from cooperating with and reporting to federal authorities an individual’s immigration status.

The strategy is also a clear departure from Denver’s response to the more than 40,000 immigrants from South and Central America who have arrived in Colorado’s most populous city over the past 16 months.

After budget cuts prompted the shuttering of four immigrant shelters and service reductions to the Department of Motor Vehicles and Parks & Recreation, Johnston estimated the cost this year could reach up to $120 million.

Early in the humanitarian crisis, Denver officials decided that taxpayers would shoulder the responsibility to feed and house these new arrivals.

So far, that decision has cost Denver more than $63 million.

The state and federal government have reimbursed Denver roughly $14 million, with the remaining cost being  borne by the city’s taxpayers.

“I’ve described this as a bathroom tub that is overflowing and spending $120 million to buy towels to sop up water isn’t the best solution,” Laydon said. “You have to turn off the faucet.”

Since December 2022, Denver has welcomed nearly 40,500 immigrants — many of whom illegally crossed America’s southern border with Mexico.

Of late, Denver has increasingly found itself surrounded by counties and cities that have deliberately avoided being tagged with a “sanctuary status” over concerns that they, too, could be saddled with the cost of the crisis unfolding in Denver.