Democratic Denver Mayor Mike Johnston recently said he was prepared to go to jail over his opposition to the Trump administration’s border policies. The president-elect’s pick to be the next border czar responded that he’s willing to put him there.
“You are absolutely breaking the law,” Tom Homan, Trump’s “border czar” designate, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “All he has to do is look at Arizona v. U.S. and he would see he’s breaking the law. But, look, me and the Denver mayor, we agree on one thing. He’s willing to go to jail, I’m willing to put him in jail.”
The Denver mayor has also predicted a “Tiananmen Square moment” if the administration carries out its plans.
Homan pointed to a statute that says it’s a “felony if you knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien from immigration authorities.”
“President Trump has been clear, we want to concentrate on public safety threats and national security threats. I find it hard to believe that any governor would say they don’t want public safety threats removed from their neighborhoods,” he said.
Johnston said during a recent interview that he was prepared to protest against anything he believes is “illegal or immoral or un-American” in the city – including the use of military force – and was then asked if he was prepared to go to jail for standing in the way of policies enacted by the administration.
“Yeah, I’m not afraid of that, and I’m also not seeking that,” Johnston said. “I think the goal is we want to be able to negotiate with reasonable people [on] how to solve hard problems.”
Johnston also said that he would support limited deportations of those convicted of “serious crimes.” He added they would be a “ready partner” if the plan was only to focus on violent criminals.
Homan said if Johnston didn’t want to protect his communities, Trump and the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency would. Homan served as acting director of ICE in the first Trump administration.
In a statement to Fox News Tuesday, Johnston said: “In Denver we respect the law and enforce it without fear or favor across every inch of our city. If Donald Trump tries to break the law and abuse his power, he will get no help from us.
“Denver is proud to be a welcoming city, and we will do everything in our power to protect those who live here. We are considering a number of options to strengthen protections for all our residents, and we continue to provide education about the rights of our immigrant community so they can best protect themselves from any unlawful actions.”
