Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday took executive action barring any state resources from being put toward the Trump administration’s policy of separating immigrants illegally crossing the border into the U.S. from their children — a decision that’s unlikely to have widespread impact but represents a rebuke to the White House.
“To see the images and hear from religious leaders, psychological professionals and academics — political individuals from all backgrounds — unanimously to condemn this kind of activity is rare,” Hickenlooper said at a news conference. “That you see that broad a consensus with that same passion and sense of urgency (is rare).”
The term-limited Democrat and potential 2020 presidential candidate added: “We wanted to make sure that we added our sense of urgency with that.”
Under a “zero tolerance” policy announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Department of Homeland Security officials are now referring all cases of illegal entry for criminal prosecution. U.S. protocol prohibits detaining children with their parents because the children are not charged with a crime and the parents are.
Sessions announced the effort April 6, and Homeland Security began stepping up referrals in early May, effectively putting the policy into action.
Roughly 2,000 children were separated from their parents under the Trump administration’s policy in a six-week span between April and May.
The policy has become the center of fierce political debate in Washington, D.C., and across the country as the question of how and where to make changes to U.S. immigration law rages on. Democrats and immigrant advocacy groups, along with some conservatives, have lambasted the policy.
When asked if any state resources are currently being used to separate immigrant families, Hickenlooper said “not to our knowledge. We’ve looked into it, and no one is aware of it.”
“I think it’s fair to say it’s a rebuke,” the governor said of his executive order. “But it’s also just saying: ‘It’s not going to happen in our backyard.’ We are very clear that this is not something that is acceptable. It’s hard for me to imagine that this is happening in the United States of America at the scale it is — at any scale.”
Hickenlooper’s executive action does not apply to cases in which a court has determined it is in a child’s best interest to be removed from a parent or guardian, or in which a child is a victim of a crime or at risk of becoming a victim.
“We recognize the importance of maintaining safety at our international borders, but intentionally separating children from their families is cruel and un-American,” the order says. “… Nothing in this Executive Order shall be construed to cause interference with routine state law enforcement activities, even if such activity results in independent federal law enforcement involvement and enforcement of federal immigration laws.”
Hickenlooper said he and his office have been examining other ways to push back against the Trump administration’s immigration policies, including in instances where people are referred to federal immigration officials from state authorities.
“We’re certainly looking at all the various options in terms of how do we push back against what we see as an unacceptable — it really becomes a moral decision, right, that this is OK,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
