On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN International’s “Amanpour,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) reacted to incoming Border Czar Tom Homan saying that he agrees with Denver Mayor Mike Johnston that he’s willing to arrest Johnston since Johnston said he’s willing to go to jail by stating that “arresting sitting elected officials because of their political beliefs, that’s very un-American and it’s dangerous to our Constitution and our country.” And doing so will “make it harder to secure the border and fix our broken immigration system.”
After viewing a clip of Homan’s remarks, Polis stated, [relevant remarks begin around 8:20] “Well, look, if the new administration comes in and starts arresting and jailing duly-elected mayors in cities across the country, that’ll lead to more division, rather than less division. And, frankly, it’ll make it harder to secure the border and fix our broken immigration system. So, again, I don’t think the Border Czar — and I don’t know exactly what his authority is, but I don’t think it involves arresting mayors or city councilpeople across the country who happen to disagree with him, and that’s not the American way. So, I’m hopeful, again, that the president-elect’s better angels prevail, and he tries to bring people together around an issue where there’s a lot of common sense. We all want to make our communities safer, apprehend and deport any immigrants who commit crimes who are a danger to our community. And, of course, we need better border security to make sure we can stop the deadly flow of fentanyl into our country. These are common sense things that I’m sure nearly every American agrees on. When it comes to arresting sitting elected officials because of their political beliefs, that’s very un-American and it’s dangerous to our Constitution and our country.”
Earlier in the interview, Polis said, “I’m not going to get between the Denver Mayor and the federal government.”
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