Denver Mayor Mike Johnston on Thursday outlined his city’s response to immigration enforcement operations, including intervening to stop federal officers when local police observe them using “excessive” force.

Johnston also said the city will not allow federal authorities to “stand in our way” in situations where emergency responders must render first aid, presumably in cases where someone, such as a civilian, gets hurt in an immigration operation.

“If we see any ICE officer using excessive force against the Denver resident, we will step in to detain that officer and remove them from the situation,” Johnston said. “We hold our own officers to that standard, and we will hold any ICE agent to the same. If an ICE agent assaults or shoots or kills a civilian in Denver, we will investigate and prosecute that crime as the facts demand, regardless of what the federal government does.”

He added: “Our goal is not to provoke, but to protect. So, to protect Denver, our first responders will always provide lifesaving aid to anyone who is injured, no matter who injured them. No ICE officer gets to stand in our way of saving someone’s life.”

Specifically, the executive order announced Thursday sets forth several protections and provisions, including but not limited to the following:

• Immigration enforcement agents are prohibited from staging on city property for civil immigration enforcement purposes, except with a judicial warrant, a court order, or as otherwise required by law.

• Duty to Intervene. Makes clear the responsibility of Denver police and Denver Sheriff’s deputies to intervene in instances of force that could cause death or serious bodily injury by immigration enforcement agents.
  
• Duty to Provide Aid. Clarifies that Denver law enforcement will provide lifesaving aid if necessary to individuals harmed by immigration enforcement agents.
  
• Duty to Investigate. Confirms Denver police will document the activity of immigration enforcement agents through the use of body-worn cameras. Denver police will conduct independent investigations into reported legal violations and refer felony matters to the Denver District Attorney or the Colorado Attorney General, regardless of whether a parallel federal investigation is underway.
  
• No city agency shall share its databases or technology use agreements with the Department of Homeland Security or its immigration enforcement partners without a subpoena, judicial warrant, court order, or except as required by law.
  
• Spaces that have traditionally remained off limits must continue to be so. This includes schools, churches, stadiums, libraries, and hospitals.
  
• Denver police will never stop an individual based on their accent or the color of their skin. That same standard must be applied to all law enforcement, and so immigration officers may not racially profile residents.
  
• In the event of civil immigration enforcement operations, police will use their established de-escalation protocols to protect peaceful protestors, ensure public health, welfare, and safety, and uphold First Amendment rights.

Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas stated that the executive order makes it clear that Denver will protect its residents, and federal agents are expected to follow local laws and public safety regulations.

“While local police officers cannot and would not legally obstruct or interfere with lawful immigration enforcement actions, all law enforcement officers have a statutory obligation to intervene if they witness illegal or excessive force being used by any law enforcement officer, to include federal agents,” Thomas said.

Denver City Attorney Miko Brown said provisions in the executive order would apply to all city-owned property, which could include parks and facilities such as the National Western Complex.

“There is a menu of legal options that we could take depending on the circumstances,” Brown said of enforcing the executive order. “That could range from a civil penalty, it could also result in a criminal charge, or it could result, for instance, in the city attorney asking a court to issue an injunction to prohibit that conduct.”

However, should Denver encounter conflicts between local and federal officers, Thomas said the first step would be to “lead with de-escalation.”

But some suggest that, given recent incidents with federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, Johnston’s action may be “poking the bear.”

“ICE has been here,” Denver City Council President Amanda Sandoval told reporters. “So this isn’t a call to say, ‘Hey, come to us.’ They are in our community.”

Sandoval stated that she has received calls regarding “families disappearing” and reports of “dads being taken from construction sites.”

“It’s just not being covered by the news,” Sandoval said. “So this is an order to protect the residents of Denver and create clarity for something that is already going on in Denver.”

Johnston stated that he was unaware of any recent incidents involving ICE agents in city-owned or city-controlled buildings.

The mayor’s executive order comes on the heels of a new city ordinance making its way through the Denver City Council that proposes banning law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, from covering their faces during an arrest or detention or inside a city facility.

The proposed ordinance, which is up for its final vote on Monday, also establishes a minimum standard for visible identification during law enforcement actions in Denver and would require officers to provide their name and badge number when asked.

It is among a slew of measures that Democrats are considering at the local and state levels in response to stepped-up enforcement actions by the Trump administration, though the operations in Colorado have so far been limited compared to those in Minnesota and other American cities.

Broadly speaking, some Democrats have begun to position the state and jurisdictions they dominate in a more confrontational stance. The Colorado attorney general, for example, wants residents to report alleged misconduct by federal agents via an online tool.

At the state Capitol, Colorado legislators are considering a proposal to allow a “cause of action” by individuals injured in an immigration enforcement activity.

Officers who violate the new city ordinance, if passed, would face penalties of up to $99 or 300 days in jail, with discretion for citations.

A federal judge recently struck down a similar anti-masking bill in California.

Johnston told reporters that the new executive order and the forthcoming mask ban being considered by the council are not redundant but rather a “combined strategy.”

“The biggest feeling we’re trying to fight is fear, and our hope is that with clarity comes confidence with Denver,” he said.