Colorado Governor Missed the Memo on the Border Crisis



Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) was recently blindsided by a caravan full of illegal aliens dropped in his backyard, courtesy of his own fellow Democrat freshman governor, Michele Lujan Grisham of New Mexico.

The caravan, which included 55 aliens from Central America’s violent Northern Triangle, was organized and paid for by Gov. Lujan Grisham’s office using taxpayer funds from her state’s Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (which is supposed to help pay for natural disasters). The move was authorized by Grisham in response to the ongoing crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Shockingly, Gov. Lujan Grisham apparently didn’t even bother to tell Gov. Polis or anyone else in Colorado’s state government about her drop-off operation until after the caravan arrived at a local non-profit in Denver (which is a sanctuary city).  She claimed that the reason she didn’t notify Gov. Polis was that the decision was made after-hours and that notice was not necessary because the transfer wasn’t an “official” state operation.

However, Gov. Lujan Grisham’s actions don’t appear to align with her statements. She actually went around Gov. Polis and informed Denver Mayor Michael Hancock (D) about the caravan a full day before she authorized it. Adding fuel to the fire, the mayor also chose to keep Gov. Polis in the dark.  

In addition to not informing Gov. Polis about the caravan, Mayor Hancock used the drop-off operation as an opportunity to politicize the immigration issue, promising to take in even more caravans from distressed states. “Denver will always be a welcoming place for people seeking refuge,” Hancock said. “I am proud of our community for proactively stepping in to provide support in uniting these individuals with their family and friends. They deserve our compassion, not condemnation.”

Gov. Polis doesn’t seem to have a problem with New Mexico violating Colorado’s state lines or with his own local jurisdictions keeping him out of the loop. He just shrugged his shoulders at the problem, doubled down on his support for illegal aliens, and tried to pin the blame on President Trump.

“The governor believes our immigrant community enriches the culture of our state,” a spokesperson for Gov. Polis wrote in a statement.

“This is another example of just how broken our country’s immigration system is and how desperately we need reform and leadership from the Trump administration on this issue,” he continued.

The New Mexico caravan of aliens entering Colorado is only the beginning. Polis is now reportedly working with Lujan Grisham to bring hundreds more illegal aliens to Colorado each week. He also approved a sanctuary law on May 28 that will act as a magnet for more illegal immigration.

But Polis’s actions may backfire on him. At least three communities in Arizona and New Mexico have already declared states of emergency in response to the border crisis, while several others have refused to take in illegal aliens, calling the influx “irresponsible” and “burdensome.”

Las Cruces, which is only a hundred miles away from the U.S.-Mexico border, is already beyond its capacity to take in more illegal aliens after absorbing more than 6,000 in the past two months alone, representing an unplanned 6% increase in its population. Shockingly, this is only a small fraction of the 150,000 migrants estimated to have been released since December and dispersed around the country. 

Governor Lujan Grisham clearly can no longer support all of the illegal aliens pouring into her state so she’s resorted to exporting them to New Mexico’s neighbors. That should put up a huge red flag for Gov. Polis. Instead of pandering to the open-borders lobby, he should do the right thing: put his state’s citizens first, reject any more of Lujan Grisham’s drop-and-run operation immediately and do whatever he can close the state’s borders to illegal immigration. Otherwise, he could easily find Colorado facing the same problems as New Mexico.

About Author

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Colton joined FAIR in 2018 as a legislative advisor for state and local policy. Prior to FAIR, Colton responded to constituent needs and legislative issues in the offices of U.S. Senator Thom Tillis and U.S. Representatives Virginia Foxx, Mark Meadows, and Richard Hudson. His congressional service covered a wide range of policy issues including agriculture, immigration, health care, welfare, and economic development. Before this, he was responsible for direct lobbying, grassroots mobilization, and strategic initiatives for several advocacy groups, including the North Carolina Association of Realtors, the Susan B. Anthony List, and Concerned Veterans for America. Colton holds a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Sociology from Western Carolina University.

12 Comments

  1. avatar

    Time for the Insurrection Act to be initiated. These are American Citizens being invaded at the Southern border. They need help and protection now. These radical Dems in state office will not use their National Guard. If they won’t deploy them call in the Regular Army with weapons and get control of this ********. This country falling apart under the guise of the Democratic misuse of the laws. Time to take back this country and play dirty like the radicals are doing.

  2. avatar

    I spend half the year living in Southwest Colorado and the other half in Southeast Florida. I am appalled at what is going on at the Southern Border! A thump on the head to New Mexico’s governor as well as the other two clowns (Hancock and Polis) in Colorado! We can’t vote them out soon enough, as our country as we knew it no longer exists — thanks to government officials like them!

  3. avatar
    Don Richardson on

    Make a pamphlet of the home addresses of the mayors of ‘sanctuary cities’ and governors of sanctuary states and any politicians who support these criminal invaders coming across our border. Let the illegals pick one of the names in the pamphlet. Then send the illegal aliens to those homes a busload at a time.

  4. avatar
    Robin Baker on

    How can we get this idiot out of office NOW??? He has done more to destroy my adopted home ina few months than anyone else in the 13 years I’ve been here! I can’t bear to watch another state go down the toilet with the rest of the offal that he claims to represent. #NotMyGovernor

  5. avatar
    Roger Abraham on

    How in the world do these law breakers think they might be re elected! Ask the Gov. or the Mayor who’s paying for these freeloaders??

  6. avatar

    Horrifying Hoards of More Homelessness, Crime and Disease

    Is like getting squirted in the face by the Open Border Party clown [the evil clown Stephen Kong writes about in It]….everyone is horrified when stuck with these hoards of bag people from the Communists in Central America…let in by rich Mexico laughing their heads off at us…

    • avatar

      The disease is what scares me been in medical for 40 years . S—-t is starting to show up in record numbers that we have thought was gone for years. Think about your children stupid dem-a-rats.

  7. avatar

    It’s beyond amazing. The Democrats deny there is any crisis at the border, refuse to discuss any solutions, and then when the inevitable happens, a flood of border crossers, it’s not their fault, it’s Trump. But they are just too busy with impeachment talk to do anything else. First they need to say what Trump actually did. Mueller’s statement was just more of the same we’ve had for two years. Innuendo after innuendo but no details. While it was foolish to try and impeach Clinton, he did commit an actual crime, perjury under oath. Whatever Trump’s supposed crime, spell it out specifically how and why, and then do something about it or move on with the business of the country. That dead horse they have been beating died already, several times over.

    • avatar
      Yvonne Carlan on

      I completely agree with Leland. He described the situation exactly as it stands. Our country is going to “hell in a handbag” and there seems to be no end in sight!

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