DENVER — Mayor Mike Johnston said he's still deciding whether to testify before a Congressional committee investigating so-called "sanctuary cities."
Speaking before a crowd of city and community leaders at the Denver Central Library on Wednesday morning, Johnston outlined his citywide goals for the year ahead.
The goals are similar to the ones he set last year.
Johnston wants to create 3,000 more affordable housing units, reduce shootings by 15%, and get 2,000 people experiencing homelessness off the streets.
He also wants to continue revitalizing downtown and develop a plan to drive investments across Denver.
“Denver is not slowing down. We’re not turning back. And we’re not leaving anyone behind,” Johnston said.
But the mayor acknowledged the city is facing another challenge.
“We understand that this is a scary time for a lot of folks that are immigrants, and it's not just folks that are undocumented, it's often their kids that are citizens, or their spouses that are citizens,” Johnston said.
Denver
How Denver is preparing for potential mass deportations under Trump
Johnston has been a vocal critic of President Trump’s mass deportation plan. He said Denver will not help federal authorities arrest immigrants.
“We are never doing ICE's job for them or helping ICE in the process of stopping detaining or removing people. That's not our job,” said Johnston. “Our officers have enough to do in the city.”
The Republican-led U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee announced this week it’s investigating “sanctuary cities,” including Denver.
The chairman of the Committee, U.S. Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, asked Johnston to testify before the committee during a hearing on Feb. 11.
“Denver is a sanctuary jurisdiction that refuses to fully cooperate with federal immigration enforcement,” Comer wrote in his letter to Johnston.
Comer described sanctuary cities as “jurisdictions [that] take it upon themselves to decide what laws they will and will not abide by all for the purpose of shielding removable aliens, especially criminals, from federal law enforcement.”
Denver7 asked Johnston if he was planning to testify.
"I'm certainly open to having a conversation with Congress on what they can do to address federal immigration reform and how they can help cities like ours,” Johnston said. “So, we've reached back out to the commission. We're in conversation with them, and we'll determine if it's a productive conversation that would benefit Denverites for me to go. We're open to it. If it's not productive, we don't need to.”
The oversight committee made no mention of wanting Johnston’s thoughts on immigration reform.
“I think it's hard to figure out what's theater and what's substance,” Johnston said. “But if they're interested in this substantial conversation about how cities in the federal government can bring about comprehensive immigration reform, how we can give Dreamers a path to citizenship, we're happy to have that conversation, rather than just doing theater just for theater’s sake.”
If he does testify, Johnston could find himself squaring off with Colorado Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, who sits on the committee.
Politics
House committee launches investigation into 'sanctuary cities,' including Denver
Last May on X (formerly known as Twitter), Boebert criticized a guidebook Johnston released to help other cities welcome immigrants arriving from the southern border.
"This is a guide that tells other cities how to follow the Denver model of bringing illegals into a city. I wish I was joking, but this is reality," Boebert tweeted.
Johnston fired back in a tweet, bringing up Boebert's infamous Beetlejuice incident.
"Did I forget a section in the playbook about not vaping and getting handsy at Beetlejuice?" Johnston said. "We haven’t had that issue with any of our newcomers, but now that we know you're paying attention, we'll add it."
The committee has given Johnston until Feb. 4 to confirm if he’s testifying.
In addition to Johnston, the oversight committee is also requesting to speak with the mayors of Boston, New York City and Chicago.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.