In yet another example of how the left is willing to endanger Americans for the sake of protecting illegal immigrants, Denver officials indicated that they will not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the case of an illegal alien who was arrested fleeing the scene of a fatal hit-and-run accident. 

The Daily Caller reported that Juan Sanchez — a Mexican national residing illegally in the United States — was deported six times before being arrested for a hit-and-run accident. He is accused of hitting a pedestrian in his vehicle and driving off in order to avoid capture. However, Denver’s sanctuary laws will allow him to be set free on bond. According to its report, this could “pose another showdown between local officials and federal immigration authorities.” 

Annette Conquering Bear was running an errand on December 17 when an SUV being driven by Sanchez struck her as she was crossing the street. The police located the vehicle and arrested Sanchez, charging him with vehicular homicide and fleeing the scene of an accident. The authorities set his bail at $500,000. 

According to ICE, Sanchez had been deported six times since 2002, which means he could be subject to imprisonment as his entering the country illegally multiple times constitutes a felony under federal law. Colorado’s Democrat-controlled government has taken numerous actions designed to hamper the operations of agencies like ICE. In May, they passed legislation prohibiting law enforcement from detaining a suspected illegal immigrant based only on an ICE request. It also prevents police from providing a suspect’s personal information to ICE. 

The local police department stated that due to state law, they cannot notify ICE of a suspect’s immigration status until they are released. Of course, this just makes ICE’s job that much more difficult. Sanchez isn’t the only illegal alien who has enjoyed the protection of sanctuary cities after committing additional crimes after crossing the border. Thousands of illegal immigrants have been shielded from deportation and/or arrest by ICE through sanctuary laws. 

These individuals — many of whom are violent criminals — are released into the public where they can endanger more Americans. In fact, there are several news stories about people becoming victims of migrants who are released under these laws. 

But this has not motivated Democrats to reconsider their ill-informed policies. Instead, they continue to safeguard illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes despite the consequences, and they don’t hesitate to use false accusations of bigotry to silence those who voice disagreement. But the question is: How many people will have to be harmed by sanctuary laws before the Democrats are forced to act? 

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