Fremont County is unable to financially or physically accommodate an influx of “illegal immigrants” into the county. Still, it will continue prioritizing its citizens who reside legally within county borders.
Or more simply put, Fremont County is not a “sanctuary county.”
That’s the message expressed by the Fremont County Board of Commissioners via a formal resolution approved during Tuesday’s meeting.
“Fremont County is not a sanctuary county for illegal immigrants,” said Board Chair Dwayne McFall. “We do not have the resources, we do not have the capacities.”
McFall also cautioned nonprofit groups that may bring unsheltered individuals to the area to remember it affects the entire community.
Commissioner Kevin Grantham agreed that resources are limited and also reminded private organizations, faith-based organizations and churches who help those in need to be mindful.
“We have a limited number of tax dollars available,” he said. “We are going to take care of Fremont County citizens first. We are going to take care of the U.S. citizens who live here first. The problem here – and it’s addressed very well in this resolution – is that we have a federal government right now that is purposefully touting the law and their duty and how they should address the border in the border crisis.”
To further that, he said, particular people in cities in this state are in league with “flouting the law, ignoring the law, calling themselves sanctuary cities,” like Denver, Pueblo and others.
“Then in the meantime, when those folks do arrive, they cry about them being there,” Grantham said. “We’ve heard about those folks possibly being shipped across the state from Denver. That is unacceptable. We have chosen not to be a sanctuary location, meanwhile, they have. Now that they have them, they do not want them and now their lack of planning for what they accepted to be their reality is now supposedly going to be placed upon our shoulders out in rural Colorado.”
He said that’s the force behind the resolution – that it’s not acceptable in Fremont County.
“My heart goes out to the folks who truly have a need, but those who claim to be sanctuaries should be those sanctuaries,” he said. “Otherwise, they were hypocrites to begin with, if that’s not too blunt.”
The resolution states in part, “Denver counts the highest number of illegal aliens per capita of any large city in the nation and the Mayor of Denver, on January 31, 2024, stated that, ‘This is both a humanitarian crisis for the individuals that are arriving, and it’s a fiscal crisis for the cities that are serving. Those two crises are coming to a head right now.’”
The same people who originally opened their arms as a sanctuary with a pledge to welcome and care for these individuals have received a very hard, cold dose of reality, Commissioner Debbie Bell said.
Cañon City Mayor Preston Troutman has heard similar concerns from his constituents. They also shared with him that Monument recently voted to affirm its status as a non-sanctuary city. Troutman reached out to the mayor of Monument to get a resolution that he plans to share with the city council.
He received a photo from a resident of some men being dropped off from a white van at Macon Plaza on Nov. 22, believing that illegal immigrants were being unloaded.
“After our research was done, they weren’t necessarily illegal immigrants, they were homeless people that were dropped off here,” Troutman said. “It’s a difference without a distinction, it’s the same thing.”
Cañon City Police Commander Tim Bell confirmed Monday that the individuals were homeless, not immigrants, and were dropped off by a church van.
Law enforcement responded to Macon Plaza and made contact with two of the people who were dropped off. Bell said there was no crime committed and therefore, no action was taken.
He also confirmed that up to this point, the police department is not seeing any immigrants being dropped off here.
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While Troutman doesn’t want the community to be alarmed or panic, he admits “We no longer live in Mayberry.”
“We don’t live in a world that was 10 years ago,” he said. “We need to be aware and prudent.”
In addition to Fremont County and Monument, Aurora’s city council also recently formally affirmed that it will remain a non-sanctuary city.
“The constituents are concerned and I feel that there is some anxiety,” Troutman said. “I think we need to address it and I think we need to have that discussion among ourselves that we don’t live in that world we lived in 10 years ago and it’s unfortunate.”
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