Senator Rand Paul (R – KY) sent a rather harsh warning to Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, suggesting that any attempt to deny the efforts of the new administration to deport large numbers of people could lead to his removal from office.
Johnston’s last-week declaration of rebellion against Donald Trump’s plans for removing criminal illegal aliens in the United States was one of the most blatant we’ve ever seen.
He declared that he would instruct Denver police to defend illegals within the city, and compared this to Tiananmen Square.
Johnston said in an interview with the Denverite, “You would have had 50,000 Denverites at the county border to keep them out. It’s like Tiananmen Square with the rose and gun, right?”
The mayor’s comments were not only “patently irrational” but also an attempt to organize an uprising.
If Johnston does something to block federal officials from enforcing the immigration laws, including by using local law enforcement, he should face prosecution to the maximum extent possible. The federal law makes it illegal to harbor illegal immigrants, and the Department of Justice has every right to act.
Senator Paul agrees with the label of insurrection and says that the Supreme Court will squash any attempt by Johnston to do so. He speculates whether Johnston would face criminal charges and predicts that he will be removed from his office.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) says that the mayor of Denver will be removed from office if he resists federal law enforcement officials who are deporting illegal aliens: “It’s a form of insurrection” pic.twitter.com/P9e4fVxVxu
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) November 24, 2024
Paul, who will be appointed to chair the Senate Homeland Security Committee once Republicans regain control in that chamber, called the Democrat Mayor’s proposal a “form” of insurrection.
He continued, “If the mayor of Denver is going to fight federal law – which has a long history of supremacy – if he is going to fight that, it’s up to the Supreme Court.”
“I suspect he will be removed from his office,” Paul said that he didn’t know if there would be criminal charges brought against someone who resists federal law. But he was sure to lose. “People must realize that what Paul is proposing is a form of insurrection, where states rebel against the federal government.”
Johnston appears to be unaware of the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which says that federal law is the law of the country.
Article VI, clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution
The supreme law of the land is this Constitution and the Laws of the United States that are made under it; all Treaties which have been made or will be made under the authority of the United States; and the judges in each state shall be bound by them, despite anything in the Constitutions or Laws of other states.
Immigration is a matter where the federal government’s constitutional authority is clear. Johnston, the local mayor, does not have the authority to object to upholding federal laws.
Paul added, “Most people rejected this (states refusing to obey federal law) long ago.” “I think that the mayor of Denver has chosen the wrong side in history and will be facing legal consequences if he does not obey federal law.”
Johnston, possibly realizing his weak legal position on the issue, retracted the remarks.
“Would I have taken it back if I could? Yes, I probably wouldn’t have used that image,” Johnston told 9News. “That’s the image I hope we can avoid. What I was trying to say is this is an outcome I hope we can avoid in this country. I think none of us want that.”
