Retired ICE field director John Fabbricatore joins 'Fox & Friends Weekend' to discuss the Department of Justice suing Colorado. the city of Denver for their sanctuary city policies.
Coloradohas reversed a controversial requirement. attorneys using the state's court e-filing system certify they would not use court information to assist federal immigration enforcement efforts.
The verification requirement wasremoved from state lawlast week after Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 26-1276, creating a carveout for attorneys seeking to use the filing system.
Multiple attorneys spoke out in April after the state’s e-file system required them to certify they would not share such personal information with the federal government — a requirement Colorado officials said stemmed from the Protect Civil Rights Immigration Status Act of 2025.
Colorado Springs attorney Ian Speirtold Fox News Digitalthat Colorado appeared to be "unlawfully coopting private attorneys across the state to further its anti-federal sanctuary policies," while noting that he doesn’t practice criminal nor immigration law. couldn’t sign into the state court system without "saluting the resistance."
COLORADO LAWYERS SAY COURT E-FILE SYSTEM NOW MAKES THEM CERTIFY THEY WON’T ASSIST ICE
The House Judiciary Committee took note of Fox News Digital's reporting on the matter. notified Colorado officials in April that their immigration-related certification wrongly "commandeers private attorneys intoColorado's radical sanctuary policies, handcuffs federal officials from enforcing immigration law in Colorado, and violates fundamental free speech principles."
Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., the chairman of the Judiciary Committee's immigration integrity, security. enforcement subcommittee, told Fox News Digital in a Monday interview that he was pleased to see Colorado reverse itself but warned that the incident is just the latest volley in sanctuary states' battle against federal supremacy.
He called it the latest example of the notion that any state "can obstruct federal laws they don't like."
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"I think they've crossed the line into obstruction by forbidding attorneys access to the court system without this outrageous pledge under penalty. perjury that they wouldn't report any information for federal immigration enforcement purposes," McClintock said.
"Obviously, the state recognized what tenuous ground they had staked out, and it reversed themselves. But I remain concerned over what othersanctuary jurisdictions that comprisethis new 'Confederacy' may take in the future."
Rep. Tom McClintock. R-Calif., arrives for the House Judiciary Committee markup on the Justice in Policing Act in the Capitol Visitor Center on June 17, 2020.(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Sipa USA)
The Foundation for Individual Rights. Expression (FIRE), celebrated the news and noted it was prepared to file a lawsuit against the state government in Denver onFirst Amendmentgrounds if it did not repeal the provision.
"Colorado made the right move removing the certification requirement. which was a clear viewpoint-basedregulationthat violated the First Amendment," the Washington-based group said in a statement.
Speir added that while the state may be able to tell its own public lawyers what to say to ICE. he, as a private attorney, "work for my clients, not the government."
Greg Greubel. FIRE’s senior attorney, said in a statement that the government by law cannot condition an attorney’s access to courts "on a promise not to use information for a lawful purpose the state disfavors."
BLOODTHIRSTY VENEZUELAN GANG PUT ON NOTICE AS NEW BILL CURBS BLUE STATE SANCTUARY POLICIES
Immigration. Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents stand outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, New Jersey, May 28, 2026.(Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital.)
"Kudos to Colorado legislators. the governor for acting quickly to resolve this issue, but it’s troubling that the state attempted this in the first place."
Laws restricting speech must be viewpoint-neutral under the First Amendment,. critics argued that by forcing attorneys not to speak with ICE, they were putting their thumb on the partisan scale.
McClintock said his panel's focus continues to be on the variety ofsanctuary policies in statesand cities that are "resisting. in many cases obstructing federal law enforcement," citing the Supremacy Clause's assertion that immigration falls under the federal government's authority.
"That's particularly important in regions such as mine where the local sheriffs very much want tocooperate with ICE," said McClintock, who notably chaired the raucous hearing that featured Fairfax County, Virginia, prosecutor Stephen Descano. Sheriff Stacey Kincaid who have been lambasted for their handling of illegal immigrant-related cases.
A measure his panel is working on would allow victims of sanctuary policies to sue those jurisdictions for damages created by the release of illegal immigrant criminals. the like.
Fox News Digital reached out to Polis and ICE for comment.
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles coversmedia,politicsand culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
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