Councilmember Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez on Monday called for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to be abolished.
“There is no reforming kidnapping and detaining random people, including children. There is no reforming murdering observers and protesters in the streets, and there is no reforming doubling down on causing violence in cities most agents have never even been to,” Gonzales-Gutierrez said. “We are in a humanitarian crisis.”
Councilmember Flor Alvidrez said ICE agents have detained people in her district in southwest Denver.
“It's been a very challenging time,” she said.
Gonzales-Gutierrez also urged U.S. Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet to vote against ICE funding.
The Senate is expected to vote this week on a funding package that includes an additional $10 billion for ICE, as well as funding for the departments of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services and others whose funding is set to expire.
The deadline is Friday, and if the funding bill doesn’t reach 60 votes, the federal government will go into a partial government shutdown.
Mayor Mike Johnston has weighed in, too.
“Donald Trump’s occupation of Minneapolis is terrorizing the city and costing innocent people their lives. It’s time for Congress to hold this president accountable, pull ICE out of American cities and put an end to this nightmare,” he posted on Facebook.
Councilmember Sarah Parady called on Johnston to also join the request to block ICE’s funding.
“The Democratic Party needs to act like the party that it says it is and vote against funding ICE, even if that is at the cost of government shutdown, which we know causes a huge amount of hardship,” Parady said. “That's not the fault of anyone other than the Trump administration.”
Councilmember Diana Romero Campbell said the city needs collective action.
“ICE is present in all parts of our city, including southeast Denver. I think for some people that's shocking because that's the first time that they've heard about it,” she said. “I think collectively taking action in any way that we can … being part of the outreach for the ‘Know Your Rights’, also connecting with the mayor on those accounts.”
Gonzales-Gutierrez also called out Palantir and its role in aiding ICE agents. Palantir is an AI software company headquartered in Denver. In April, Palantir received a $30 million contract to create a platform that tracks immigrants in real-time.
“Palantir is complicit in helping ICE track and target people's movements, causing harm in our communities across the country, and right here in Denver already,” she said. “There is no level of reform that would address the way ICE is operating.”
Palantir did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
