DENVER, Colo. (KOAA) — The Department of Justice (DOJ) refiled its lawsuit against the state of Colorado and Denver late Friday night as the Trump administration continues its attempted crackdown on so-called sanctuary cities.
This comes as a similar DOJ lawsuit against Chicago and the state of Illinois was dismissed by a federal judge on Friday. The Illinois decision had no bearing on the DOJ refiling in Colorado, which was already in the process of being filed.
The amended Colorado complaint was refiled primarily due to Senate Bill 276 (SB25-276), a new immigration law passed in the state legislature and signed into law after the DOJ first filed its lawsuit on May 2.
The new complaint is overall more detailed, aggressive, and political in tone.
“The law doubled down on Colorado’s already radical sanctuary policies, further expanding its prohibitions on state and local employees cooperating with federal immigration authorities and hampering the Executive from enforcing immigration law in Colorado,” the lawsuit said.
SB25-276 was passed by the state’s Democratic majority along party-line votes and offers more robust protections for immigrants in the country illegally, further broadening the prohibition against state and local law enforcement and other employees from cooperating with and sharing data with federal immigration agents.
“Senate Bill 25- 276’s amendments operate to severely restrict employees from collecting or sharing information with federal immigration enforcement authorities,” the amended lawsuit said.
The amended complaint also took aim at Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser’s lawsuit against a Mesa County sheriff’s deputy, which was filed on July 22.
On June 5, Mesa County Sheriff’s Deputy Alexander Zwinck violated state law by working with immigration officials to detain a 19-year-old Utah college student after a routine traffic stop, Weiser’s office said.
The woman was initially pulled over for following a semitruck too closely on I-70.
The teenage driver cooperated fully, but the deputy immediately uploaded her personal information to a Signal group chat that included federal immigration officers.
Zwinck was notified that the Utah woman had no criminal history but was a Brazilian national on an expired visa. He stalled the driver and notified the federal immigration officials of where to track her down.
The woman, Dias Goncalves, was taken into custody and eventually released after 15 days in the Aurora ICE detention center.
“State law specifies that Colorado law enforcement officers are dedicated to enforcing Colorado law and do not do the work of the federal government to enforce immigration law,” said Attorney General Weiser. “In this case, the driver was detained by immigration authorities because of actions by Colorado law enforcement despite the absence of any criminal activity on her part. Her detention for over two weeks is directly due to this violation of Colorado’s laws.”
Attorney General Weiser said he was acting under the new parameters of SB25-276 in his lawsuit against the deputy.
The refiled DOJ lawsuit references the incident and Weiser’s ensuing legal actions against the deputy.
“When officers choose to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement agents to keep their communities safe and enforce federal law, the State of Colorado hauls them into court as punishment for doing their jobs,” the lawsuit said in reference to Mesa County Sheriff’s Deputy Zwinck.
Other Republicans in Colorado took similar stances against Weiser’s lawsuit, including Teller County Sheriff and 2026 Republican gubernatorial candidate Jason Mikesell.
In a statement released Friday, Sheriff Mikesell accused AG Weiser of “disrespecting the rule of law.”
“It is a sad day for all Coloradans and a new low when the Attorney General of Colorado files a lawsuit against a deputy sheriff of a county for following federal law assisting with an investigation,” Mikesell said in the statement. “The stated mission of the Colorado Attorney General is to ‘advance respect for the law and the public interest.’”
Mikesell, who is a potential opponent of Weiser in next year’s governor’s race, took the opportunity to call for Weiser’s immediate resignation for filing the lawsuit.
In terms of the DOJ lawsuit against Colorado, the state has until August 25 to respond to the amended complaint.
According to court documents, the first scheduling conference is set for Oct. 16, but it’s unclear if the lawsuit will make it that far.
The lawsuit was assigned to Colorado District Judge Gordon P Gallagher, a Joe Biden appointee.
On Friday, another Biden-appointed judge in Illinois dismissed the DOJ’s sanctuary lawsuit against Chicago and the Midwest state.
According to NBC News, the judge said in the ruling that Illinois' decision to enact the sanctuary laws is protected by the 10th Amendment, which declares that any powers not specifically given to the federal government or denied to the states by the Constitution are retained by the states.
Still, the DOJ continued its push against similar policies nationwide and filed another sanctuary lawsuit against New York City on Thursday, the day before the Chicago ruling.
Email Senior Reporter Brett Forrest at brett.forrest@koaa.com. Follow @brettforrestTVon X and Brett Forrest News on Facebook.
Brett can also communicate via encrypted apps like Signal. Due to the sensitive nature of ongoing reporting from federal actions, he is willing to take steps to protect identities.
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Erosion concerns along a busy Colorado highway
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