All of a sudden Donald Trump’s crazy ideas about keeping Americans safe aren’t so appalling to certain Democrats.
“We will partner on violent criminals, as we have always done,” Denver Mayor Mike Johnson told local 9NEWS on Monday as newly sworn-in President Trump was busy signing a flurry of executive orders, many of which dealt with illegal immigration.
“In the past, over the last administration, we will do it again,” Johnson continued. “We don’t want criminals of any background on our streets, and that’s been clear for us consistently.”
That hasn’t been clear to those who’ve seen the troubling reports of rising crime and homelessness in the once-red state of Colorado.
“Do you draw the line at violent crime?” host Kyle Clark asked. “A lot of what I hear from your office talks about distinguishing between people who have committed violent crimes and those who have not. How about somebody who is here without authorization who, say, is a repeat drunk driver? Would you work with ICE to get them out?”
Here’s when Johnson, who previously stated that he was willing to go to jail to oppose Trump border policies, hinted that he’d be open to working with ICE under the incoming administration.
“Right now, what we do is we don’t proactively ask someone’s status when they’re arrested, say, for drunk driving, nor do we proactively report to ICE. But if ICE reaches out to us and says, we know you have someone in your custody who is a criminal, what we will do is partner with them and notify them when we’re releasing them so they can pick them up, Johnson said. “So, if there is a violent criminal ICE has identified or a criminal ICE has identified with a serious criminal history and they ask us for notification, we will notify them when we release them and they can pick them up.”
Seemingly unsatisfied, Clark pressed further on where the mayor would “draw the line.”
“But do you draw a line between those who you believe should be priorities for removal and those who should not? Clark asked. “And where would rank somebody who, say, poses a threat to public safety, but is not necessarily dangerous?”
“We don’t. In the past, all of the requests we’ve gotten have been for violent criminals,” Johnson said. “Because, often, we don’t hold you very long in our jail if you’re not a violent criminal, you’d be out on a bond or otherwise if it was a small, minor offense. If we see a dramatic expansion in the number of requests that come from this administration, versus the last, then we could re-evaluate. But right now, we honor those requests that come in because those requests almost always focus on violent criminals.”
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