An October 15 article by Charles Ashby in The Pueblo Chieftain uncritically repeated Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez's claim that Denver is a so-called “sanctuary city” for illegal immigrants, and that his Democratic opponent, former Denver district attorney Bill Ritter, publicly has denied Denver's “obvious” sanctuary policy. According to the Chieftain, during an October 14 debate, Beauprez stated that Ritter “recently said on [a] Denver radio station that he didn't believe the city and county of Denver was a sanctuary city (for illegal immigrants). ... Is that the mentality that you want in charge of trying to resolve this problem, somebody who doesn't recognize the obvious?” The article ended there, without stating whether Ritter responded to Beauprez's accusation and without noting evidence that Denver is not, in fact, a “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.”

Likewise, 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 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.”

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

Denver mayor John 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.”

From the Chieftain's October 15 article, “Beauprez, Ritter fight it out for 20th time in campaign,” by Charles Ashby:

But once again, the two tangled over immigration, with Beauprez attacking Ritter for plea bargaining charges against illegal immigrants, and Ritter accusing the congressman of using the issue as a political football merely to get votes.

“We need to look to a guest-worker policy that pulls people out of the shadows and incorporate them into a taxpaying system so that we're sure that they're paying property taxes, that they're paying income taxes,” Ritter said.

While Ritter chastised Beauprez and his GOP party for doing little to nothing years ago on illegal immigrants, Beauprez accused Ritter of running away from the people by saying it was a [sic] issue the federal government needs to deal with.

“Bill very recently said on [sic] Denver radio station that he didn't believe the city and county of Denver was a sanctuary city (for illegal immigrants),” Beauprez said. “Is that the mentality that you want in charge of trying to resolve this problem, somebody who doesn't recognize the obvious?”