It’s bad enough when local officials give their constituents the short end of the stick; it’s even worse when they stick it to people who live somewhere else. In theory, at least, the officials might have to answer to their voters at some point — but they don’t owe so much as a “Sorry, suckers!” if their reckless policies backfire on the city or county next door.

Castle Rock has been feeling precisely that kind of pain, inflicted by the ruinous sanctuary-city policies of its much larger neighbor to the north. And the town has had enough.

As The Gazette reported this week, Castle Rock’s Town Council voted unanimously Tuesday to lay the groundwork for suing Denver over its out-of-control immigration policies. And elected officials in surrounding Douglas County are interested in joining in.

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It’s heartening to see some plucky local governments push back at the wholly irresponsible, open-door approach to illegal immigration that has been embraced for years by Denver City Hall and reinforced by the state Legislature.

As is well known to most Coloradans by now — and to just about everyone illegally crossing the southern U.S. border these days — Denver Mayor Michael Johnston has made himself innkeeper at large for an unprecedented, new wave of illegal immigrants, especially from troubled Venezuela.

Policies adopted by Denver City Hall as well as by Colorado’s state government have turned our state into a sanctuary, and a beacon, for those who are illegally in the U.S. To date, Denver has received over 43,000 immigrants at a cost of more than $74 million.

Denver City Hall’s profligacy — attempting to heal what ails the world by shafting its local taxpayers — has meant cuts in municipal services, from parks and rec to closing DMV offices.

It also has compounded the crime wave and contributed to chaos and squalor on the streets. Illegal homeless encampments have swelled, and at one point Venezuelans mounted a near-riot at a nearby Aurora shopping center.

And, to Castle Rock’s point, those ripple effects don’t stop at Denver’s municipal boundaries. Probably most municipalities in the sprawling Denver metro area and, to varying degrees, along the Front Range, have been reeling from the ill effects. And Denver’s stiff-necked, taxpayers-be-damned adherence to sanctuary policies plays a key role.

It draws illegal immigration — er, “newcomers” — to our state and steamrolls surrounding communities along the way. Their law enforcement and human services agencies as well as schools — and ultimately, their taxpayers — get stuck with some of the tab.

Making matters worse, communities such as Castle Rock also have had their hands tied by some of the state’s sanctuary policies.

A 2023 law passed by the Democratic majority at the Legislature restricts the ability of state and local governments to make agreements with federal immigration officials over the detention of immigrants who unlawfully entered the country. A 2019 statute blocks local law enforcement from arresting immigrants who are wanted under federal law for illegal entry.

Is it any wonder local governments are fed up?

“Nobody outside of Denver asked to be part of it,” said Castle Rock Town Council member Max Brooks, who initiated this week’s action by the council. “It’s spilling into other communities.”

Brooks’ and fellow council members want to work with their Douglas County commission counterparts and other municipalities in hauling Denver to court.

“If we were doing something here that negatively impacted Denver,” Brooks said, “you better believe we’d hear from them. It’s time that they hear from us.”

Indeed.

Denver Gazette Editorial Board