On his October 16 broadcast, 630 KHOW-AM talk show host Peter Boyles criticized Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper -- whom he called “Chickenlooper” -- for characterizing the city's graffiti problem as a “disrespect for the law” while serving as “the mayor of a sanctuary city” for illegal immigrants. On his radio show, Boyles repeatedly has claimed that Denver is a so-called “sanctuary city” despite significant evidence that it is not.

Boyles made his comments after his guest, Los Angeles radio host Terry Anderson, referred to Hickenlooper as “Mayor Chickenlooper”:

BOYLES: It's interesting, we have a gubernatorial race here, and the mayor of the city is laughable when it comes to this; the Speaker of the House [Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver], this is as if my asking --

ANDERSON: Mayor Chickenlooper.

BOYLES: Well, no, Chickenlooper is the mayor. And here's a funny line. The city is being barraged right now with a graffiti problem. So, I'll read you -- this is from the newsroom: “Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has called an emergency meeting for Wednesday [October 18] on the city's graffiti problem, saying the problem goes deeper than the $1 million cost to remove it.” Here comes the whammo showstopper: “Mayor Hickenlooper thinks it leads to disrespect for the law, saying, 'It lets people think it's OK to break the law.' ” This is the mayor of a sanctuary city, saying that?

ANDERSON: You think? Unbelievable.

Hickenlooper announced in his July 12, 2006, State of the City address that he would “convene a graffiti summit in the next year -- bringing together experts and community stakeholders to develop and implement a comprehensive citywide approach to this nuisance.” He announced the date for the summit -- October 18 -- in an October 5 press release.

Boyles frequently has insisted that Denver is a so-called “sanctuary city.” As Colorado Media Matters has noted, a Colorado law enacted May 1 prohibits such “sanctuary” policies, which it defines as “local government ordinances or policies that prohibit local officials, including peace officers, from communicating or cooperating with federal officials with regard to the immigration status of any person within the state.” A June 11 Rocky Mountain News article reported that while some local law enforcement officials in Colorado fail to turn in immigrants, “it has nothing to do with any sanctuary policy.” The same News article also reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (known as BICE, or ICE) spokesman Carl Rusnok said he knows of “no Colorado city that has a policy against calling ICE.”

Hickenlooper stated on the September 21 broadcast of KCNC's CBS4 News at 6:30 p.m. that “Denver has never been a sanctuary city; however many times you call Denver a sanctuary city, it's not.”

As Colorado Media Matters has pointed out, the Denver Police Operations Manual states, “The responsibility for enforcement of immigration laws rests with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (B.I.C.E.). Denver Police officers shall not initiate police actions with the primary objective of discovering the immigration status of a person.” However, the manual adds that “when a suspect believed to be an undocumented immigrant is arrested for other charges, a 'Refer to Immigration' charge will be added to the original charges. Sheriff's Department personnel will then notify the B.I.C.E. authorities according to their procedures.”

The June 11 News article reported that the newspaper's investigation “found that some local law-enforcement officials indeed fail to turn in immigrants, including some criminals they know are here illegally. But it has nothing to do with any sanctuary policy.” The News reported that local law enforcement officials in Colorado “say they know ICE lacks the people or places to deal with them, a message ICE officials have delivered personally. And local jails are too full to hold them while deportation orders are processed.”

The News quoted Rusnok as saying, “There aren't any cities in Colorado that refuse to call us. ... I know of no Colorado city that has a policy against calling ICE.”

Furthermore, a U.S. Congressional Research Service report from 2004 identified “sanctuary cities” as those that have adopted “a 'don't ask-don't tell' policy where they don't require their employees, including law enforcement officers, to report to federal officials aliens who may be illegally present in the country.” The report's March 11, 2004, list of U.S. "[c]ities and counties currently that have sanctuary policies" did not include any in Colorado.

As Colorado Media Matters previously noted (see here, here, here, here, here, here, and here), several Republican officeholders and candidates, along with Colorado media figures -- including Boyles -- have sought to perpetuate the myth that Denver or other Colorado cities have enacted “sanctuary” policies.

From the October 16 broadcast of 630 KHOW-AM's The Peter Boyles Show:

BOYLES: -- on immigration. That ought to be real good. He was with us a couple of months ago, or about a month ago, by phone. In the meantime, he has not been with us for a couple of weeks. We have been through so many other issues. Please say good morning and welcome back. He is my true favorite. Ladies and gentlemen, radio talk show host in California, the man with the plan. T.A., good morning. Terry Anderson, everyone. Good morning, T.A.

ANDERSON: Pete, what do you hear? What do you say? I --

BOYLES: That was on -- that was on TV, man.

ANDERSON: Was it?

BOYLES: Yeah.

ANDERSON: I testified in that subcommittee [U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims] twice. And the second time I test -- first time it was [U.S. Rep.] Lamar Smith [R-TX] was the head of it, and second time, it was [U.S. Rep. John] Hostettler [R-IN].

BOYLES: You like him?

ANDERSON: Whoa, what a guy, what a guy.

BOYLES: Yeah. I spoke to him by phone, and he's pretty great. And I thought, “Well, at least he's, you know, he's got his eyes on the ball right now.” At least seemingly.

ANDERSON: Well, you know he's the head, so he kind of lays back and lets the thing go which way it's going to go and just kind of directs things. But it's the other guys, it's Congressman [U.S. Rep. Steve] King [R] from Iowa and others who kind of take the lead. And [U.S. Rep.] Elton Gallegly [R-CA] was another who steered the thing in the way it should go. They even came out during the break and says, “Look, is there any questions you want me to ask you during your testimony?”

BOYLES: Hoo, hoo.

ANDERSON: That type of deal. And, you know, you know, I tell people all the time, I'm not Democrat/Republican; I think they both suck. But that's the importance. This is where it does come down to Democrat/Republican: If the Republicans hold on to the House, at least we have people like Hostettler and King --

BOYLES: Um, hmm.

ANDERSON: -- and Gallegly, and [U.S. Rep.] J.D. Hayworth [R-AZ] --

BOYLES: Yeah.

ANDERSON: -- and others, who are there and have the right frame of mind on this issue.

BOYLES: I agree.

ANDERSON: Whereas, if the Democrats get in, whoa, man. [U.S. Rep.] Sheila Jackson Lee's [D-TX] on that committee, one of the Sanchez sisters [U.S. Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-CA] is on that committee. [U.S. Rep.] Howard Vermin [Berman, D-CA]. I mean, you got a lot of people on that committee who just want to throw this country away.

BOYLES: It's interesting, we have a gubernatorial race here, and the mayor of the city is laughable when it comes to this; the Speaker of the House, this is as if my asking --

ANDERSON: Mayor Chickenlooper.

BOYLES: Well, no, Chickenlooper is the mayor. And here's a funny line. The city is being barraged right now with a graffiti problem. So, I'll read you -- this is from the newsroom: “Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has called an emergency meeting for Wednesday [October 18] on the city's graffiti problem, saying the problem goes deeper than the $1 million cost to remove it.” Here comes the whammo showstopper: “Mayor Hickenlooper thinks it leads to disrespect for the law, saying, 'It lets people think it's OK to break the law.' ” This is the mayor of a sanctuary city, saying that?

ANDERSON: You think? Unbelievable.