Resident generated news about Lakewood, Colorado

Lakewood Declares Support For Anti-ICE Actions

Anti-ICE protestors came out in support of the first step Lakewood City Council took against ICE policies. Wearing red shirts with “Keep our neighbors safe” written on them and anti-ICE pins, protestors thanked City Council for making a declaration to honor people who recently died during ICE enforcement actions. The declaration made no mention of immigration status, surrounding circumstances or any actively threatening actions taken by those who died. In other words, Lakewood’s declaration was a one-sided, virtue signaling, political statement about a non-Lakewood specific issue. Lakewood Council Members called it “beautiful.”

The draft declaration was carefully written to avoid outright declaring Lakewood is anti-ICE or a sanctuary. Instead, the declaration says Lakewood honors individuals who died. Those individuals happened to be anti-ICE protestors or illegal immigrants. Council discussion included anti-ICE policies, such as discussion of no-masks for ICE officers in the future. People understood the intent, leading to resident anti-ICE protestors coming to the public meeting to thank City Council for their support. Online public comment was not enabled for this item.

Lakewood is a Sanctuary

Lakewood has a history of supporting and carrying out sanctuary city policies without calling itself a sanctuary city. This declaration follows the same pattern by honoring the dead instead of being anti-ICE. Lakewood’s strategy on migrants has been to keep a low profile, even to stop applying for federal grants if they ask about immigration enforcement, all without publicly announcing any such sanctuary policy.

Many of these same City Council Members assured the public that Lakewood was not a sanctuary city in 2024 during widespread civic unrest caused by increased migrant activity. Lakewood works with Denver to be a “good neighbor” to immigrants and ensures that migrants are welcome at Lakewood shelters and resources, all while pointing out that Lakewood never voted to be a sanctuary city.

The current resolution says that Lakewood has no obligation to help federal immigration enforcement rather than calling Lakewood a sanctuary for illegals. Those are two different ways of saying the same thing, although it may be the first time Lakewood’s lack of cooperation has been written down as official policy, rather than merely stated when asked.

Rule of Law and One-Sided Arguments

Lakewood resident Bob Adams points out that although Lakewood uses neutral language such as “reports of violence and loss of life connected to recent federal immigration enforcement,” only one side of the political argument was represented. Violence against ICE agents, violence against people supporting ICE and victims of illegal activity were not honored.

John L. responded that it “seems odd for a governing body responsible for enacting laws to support not following the law.” John L. was apparently referring to breaking immigration law. There was no reference to this criminal act during Council conversation. Council Members, including Councilors Ken Cruz and Dave Rein, specifically focused on Constitutional rights and due process for the deceased without addressing the underlying issue of illegal entry to the country nor the widespread fraud that led to ICE enforcement actions.

Ironically, Council did not rely on due process themselves. Rather, they based their conclusions on media reporting. Each case was unique but Lakewood Councilors treated them in bulk with ICE agents presumed guilty. Councilor Liz Black listed several ways she felt ICE was acting illegally in Minneapolis. Although there are always specific improvements that could be made, no Councilor even listed the full facts of the case.

Councilor Paula Nystrom called for more action, such as limiting face masks for agents and getting in front of potential ICE actions here.

This was not a neutral call to work together. Instead, it was a call for support against federal immigration laws.

No ICE Problem in Lakewood

Perhaps because of Lakewood’s sanctuary policies or the free resources available to migrants, Lakewood has a strong migrant presence, but as of now, there are no declared mass ICE operations.

One Ward 2 resident says she is co-lead to the Immigrant Partnership Team in Lakewood. This group monitors ICE activity in Colorado and has seen an increase in equipment and personnel. She says Lakewood must be ready to counteract any ICE enforcement.

Another co-lead for the Jeffco Immigrant Partnership Action Team spoke out against ICE, saying that people living here are in fear of going to work or school. Mayor Pro Tem Shahrezaei later thanks these speakers for coming out in order to hold Council accountable in their duty to speak out. No such duty can be found in municipal code.

Lori Stevens on nextdoor.com points out that in cities where cooperation with ICE is allowed, there is no violent anti-ICE operations. This suggests that where local governments support subverting the law, people are encouraged to escalate, including acting violently toward law enforcement officials.

Lakewood has not shared any knowledge of upcoming ICE operations. Without that, this declaration seems to be City Council Members using their local office position to amplify a personal political position. Policy cannot be changed without further Council action.

National versus Local Focus

Recent Council discussions have focused on state and national agendas rather than local problems.

Millions spent annually to address a regional homeless problem, bringing more homeless to Lakewood.
New zoning codes reflect similar codes being installed in Democrat-run cities nationwide. There is no data to support this will solve a local problem.
Mayor Pro Tem Jeslin Shahrezaei made a statement of personal support for Iran from her position on City Council during a council meeting.
Honoring deceased anti-ICE protestors in other states

Councilor Isabel Cruz says this is a local issue. She knows many residents that have been taken to facilities in other states and families that face deportation. She is fighting for those people.

Councilor Bill Furman said he hopes this declaration will make community members feel safer.

None of these Councilors have made similar declarations to strongly support Lakewood residents who want to feel safer because of increased criminal activity their neighborhoods. There was no mention that because Lakewood did not cooperate with ICE, Lakewood Police had to find outside sources to gather intelligence on criminal illegals in Lakewood. Apparently only certain residents deserve to feel safer.

Progressive Versus Progress

Mayor Pro Tem Jeslin Shahrezaei congratulated City Council on their progress. She said past City Councils would not be able to take this step. She said she’s grateful to align with cities like Denver and hopes to spur other cities to action.

Is progress for Lakewood now measured by getting other cities to agree with personal beliefs?

When viewed through the lens of local Lakewood Council responsibilities, there is a clear responsibility to respond to legal residents who ask for help in local criminal enforcement. There is less clarity in what responsibility Lakewood Councilors have to make virtue-signaling political statements.

When there is known Venezuelan gang activity in Lakewood, but police are not allowed to cooperate with ICE, lives are put in jeopardy. Suggesting otherwise is calling for no enforcement, or nullifying laws, similar to how Lakewood has nullified local laws through deprioritization.

Progressivism is an ideology that includes defunding the police and eliminating ICE. Progress is measured achievement toward a goal. What goal is Lakewood Council working toward?

Status

All Council Members added their name to the declaration. However, the declaration is in draft form. Such declarations are not a core function of Lakewood and have never been needed before. Therefore, there is no procedure for such a declaration. Council will be holding a study session to change Council procedures for next steps.