Denver Mayor Mike Johnston will testify Wednesday morning before a congressional committee in Washington D.C. about Denver’s status as a so-called “sanctuary city.”
There, he and three other mayors – Eric Adams of New York, Brandon Johnson of Chicago and Michelle Wu of Boston – will take questions from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee after it opened an investigation into the immigration policies of these cities and their impact on public safety.
Denver7 Chief Investigative Reporter Tony Kovaleski sat down exclusively with Johnston before he left for Washington as he prepared to defend his city and its policies before a national audience. The hearing is scheduled for 8 a.m. Denver time.
In the 30-minute interview, Johnston laid out his mindset for the hearing, what he hopes to get across about Denver and why he accepted the invitation.
“My mindset is I just want to go and make a case for why Denver has a clear, common-sense approach to this challenge,” Johnston said in the interview, which took place Friday. “We didn’t invite this crisis, but we think Denver handled it very well and we think it’s a challenge that’s solvable.”
- See the full 30-minute interview in the video player below:
Is Denver a sanctuary city?
While the committee said it is investigating “sanctuary cities,” there is debate on whether Denver fits that definition. Committee Chair James Comer (R, Ky) cited a New York Times article, which defined it as "states, counties or cities that put some limits on how much they are willing to cooperate with federal agencies’ efforts to deport” people in the U.S. illegally.
Johnston said it’s hard to know the true definition of a sanctuary city as people use it to define many different things.
“I think what we’re very clear on is what Denver does. What Denver does is we do not shield people from federal law enforcement, we don’t do that,” he said. “And so if what people mean by sanctuary is you’re shielding people from law enforcement, we don’t do that. We do provide services to people that arrive. If you show up in the middle of winter in a T-shirt and sandals with three kids in 10-degree weather, we are going to give you clothes and we’re going to give you food and we’re going to give you a place to stay. So we do provide services. We don’t shelter people from law enforcement. And so for us, that’s a common sense approach.”
Denver has never officially called itself a sanctuary city, but it became labeled as one nationally during the first Trump administration.
That administration in 2017 asked for "sanctuary cities," including Denver, to help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its crackdown on immigration. In response, then-Mayor Michael Hancock signed an executive order that created a legal defense fund for people threatened with or in removal proceedings and ordered the Denver Sheriff Department, which operates the city's jail, not to seek federal funding that required the department to gather and release information about a person’s immigration or citizenship status.
In that order, Hancock called Denver a "safe and welcoming city" but never used the word "sanctuary."
Why accept the invitation?
Johnston was invited to appear before the House committee, but said that he believes that he would have eventually been subpoenaed if he declined, which would have been a bigger burden on the city employees, resources and time.
“We negotiated with them the terms of when we would go, what would be discussed, what documents we could produce. And we think it’s better to do that than face a subpoena, which dramatically restricts our operations. And also we’re not afraid of any of the things that we’ve done. We’re proud of what we’ve done, and so we’re happy to answer those questions."
"There’s nothing we have to hide.”
Last month, the Denver City Council approved a $2 million contract with a law firm that will represent the city during Johnston's congressional inquiry.
Making national headlines
After the presidential election in November, Johnston entered the national spotlight when he was quoted as saying he would go to jail to stop mass deportation efforts. The statement garnered response from Border Czar Tom Homan and may have played a role in Johnston’s invitation to testify.
During his sitdown with Denver7 Investigates, he said his comments came after President Donald Trump and Homan announced they would deploy the military and repeal protections that would prevent raids at schools, churches and hospitals.
“My statement was that if you do that, I think you will find large numbers of Denver grandmothers, kids, students who will peacefully protest," Johnston explained. "That’s what I was communicating. We’re never going to have a conflict with ICE. We’re never going to oppose their actions. We don’t stop them. But I do think that proposal is dramatic and I think un-American. We’re glad to see they haven’t done that.”
Walking into hostile territory
In addition to taking questions, Johnston will submit a written testimony and will have a five-minute opening statement. He says once the questions begin, he plans to stay focused on the facts.
“I think my strategy is just to be calm and clear and level headed,” Johnston said. “I think we again feel like we’re defending all Denver’s ordinances, all of the policies and programs of our city employees. We have city employees who worked overtime, worked their butts off to try to help solve this crisis that they didn’t ask for and didn’t invite. … I think the city responded in an incredible way, and there’s nothing anyone can say or do to make me feel ashamed of that. I’m incredibly proud of that.”
As for what would make a successful hearing, Johnston it would be getting a chance to clearly answer questions and dispel myths.
“We believe that Denver is a good template for how the rest of the country can solve this problem. And we think most people agree,” he said. “I think everyone agrees that, yes, we should be identifying violent criminals and taking them off the streets and arresting them, charging them or deporting them. We agree with that. And I also think most Denverites and Americans agree they don’t see any need to have the U.S. Military coming into our schools and pulling seventh graders out of history class in handcuffs or pulling a grandmother out of the church pew on a Sunday or taking a worker off the job who is right now working legally in the city, paying taxes and contributing to our economy.”
