Denver mayor’s resolve to go to jail for resisting deportation orders wilts

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston dodged a response to President-elect Donald Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan saying he would jail the mayor if he does not comply with federal deportation orders of illegal immigrants.

Johnston, a Democrat, has been one of a few officials who have picked a fight with Homan over the incoming Trump administration's plans for mass deportations. The Denver mayor was asked directly about if he would go to jail to block some deportations on CNN's Erin Burnett Outfront Tuesday, to which he instead said that he would work with the administration on deporting violent criminals.

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"You know, I think there are thoughtful ways to solve this problem if they want to focus on violent criminals, we would be happy to help support pursuing, arresting, and deporting them. We've helped past administrations. We do that again," Johnston said. "If they want to focus on adding more judicial capacity, so folks with asylum claims can have those cases heard more quickly, we would support that."

He said the city would not be cooperative if the incoming Trump administration deploys "the 101st Airborne into American cities to pull 10-year-old kids out of their classrooms in handcuffs." Johnston said they can expect "resisting" from them if the Trump administration goes for wide-ranging mass deportations.

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Johnston also said he would not use his law enforcement to resist deportation orders, but instead predicted that citizens of the city would intervene to block federal officials.

"Yeah, we won't use our law enforcement and we don't think we need to. That's not what we're after. I think America is not after another conflict on this issue. They're after a way to find pragmatic solutions to this problem," Johnston said.

"If they are going to send the U.S. Army or the Navy Seals into Denver to pursue folks to pull them off the job at hotels or restaurants where they're working or pull kids off the soccer field, I think we will see Denverites and folks around the country who will nonviolently resist that, because I think that doesn't represent our values and doesn't represent the Constitution," he added.

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Homan, who is expected to be Trump's chief hawk on border issues and immigration as the designated border czar, said on Fox News's Hannity on Monday that Johnston defying proposed deportations would be a violation of federal law and that "the Denver mayor, we agree on one thing: He’s willing to go to jail, I’m willing to put him in jail.”

The incoming border czar has also received pushback from Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, with Homan saying that Immigration and Customs Enforcement would not need cooperation from local law enforcement to carry out deportations of illegal immigrants.