Homeland Security pulls down ‘sanctuary jurisdictions’ list identifying several Colorado municipalities, counties

The Department of Homeland Security’s list of “sanctuary jurisdictions” — which listed several cities and counties on Colorado’s Western Slope — was pulled from its website on Sunday, June 1.

The department published the list on May 29, citing its decision under President Donald Trump’s Protecting American Communities from Criminal Aliens executive order. The page claimed that “sanctuary jurisdictions undermine the rule of law and endanger the lives of Americans and law enforcement.”

Of the 53 sanctuary jurisdictions identified for Colorado when the list was taken down, Western Slope counties included Eagle, Garfield, Pitkin, Rio Grande, Summit and Lake counties. Towns included Avon, Basalt, Carbondale, Dillion, Eagle and Vail. Routt County was not included on the list.

Several Colorado counties have declared themselves as “non-sanctuary,” including Garfield County. Despite commissioners signing a resolution in 2024 declaring that it would not aid or provide shelter to undocumented migrants, the county was still included in the list.

“As far as that whole list, it’s just kind of BS,” Garfield County Commissioner Tom Jankovsky said. “We have our resolution. The sheriff follows state laws. That’s kind of where we are.”

Jankovsky said Garfield County commissioners passing a resolution stating it’s not a sanctuary county was “primarily in response to the Venezuelans who were camping out in Carbondale.”

“We were stating that we were not going to provide assistance to undocumented immigrants as far as food and shelter,” he said. “If they got here, then they need to be able to take care of themselves.”

Of the other Western Slope counties included in the department’s list, none have officially passed resolutions declaring themselves as sanctuary jurisdictions. Eagle County, while having passed a resolution relating to support for local immigrants, does not adopt the label. Several may have still been identified due to having policies that align with sanctuary principles.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, criteria for a county or city to be designated as a sanctuary jurisdiction is based on multiple factors: “self-identification as a sanctuary jurisdiction, noncompliance with Federal law enforcement in enforcing immigration laws, restrictions on information sharing, and legal protections for illegal aliens.”

Colorado itself was listed by the department as a sanctuary state based on “self-Identification as a state sanctuary jurisdiction.” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has maintained that Colorado is not a sanctuary state, emphasizing its cooperation with federal law enforcement on criminal investigations. However, Colorado law limits how local law enforcement can cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In May, Polis also signed legislation prohibiting jails from delaying the release of individuals for immigration enforcement purposes and restricting local governments from sharing personal information with federal immigration agencies.

These immigration policies have come under attack by the Trump administration, which filed a lawsuit against the state of Colorado and the city of Denver in May seeking to remove local policies restricting cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, along with a coalition of 19 attorneys general, responded by filing two lawsuits against the Trump administration claiming its use of billions in emergency services and infrastructure projects to impose “illegal immigration conditions” is unlawful.

The department said it notified each listed jurisdiction of its “non-compliance with Federal statutes” and demands that these jurisdictions “immediately review and revise their policies to align with Federal immigration laws and renew their obligation to protect American citizens, not dangerous illegal aliens.” The message has since been taken down along with the list.

The National Sheriffs’ Association President Sheriff Kieran Donahue had publicly criticized the list prior to Sunday for being created “without any input, criteria of compliance, or a mechanism for how to object to the designation.”

“Sheriffs nationwide have no way to know what they must do or not do to avoid this arbitrary label,” Donahue said in a statement.