Posted on April 2, 2026
On Tuesday, four laws written and passed by U.S. Senate candidate and current state Senator Julie Gonzales beat the Trump administration in court. A federal judge dismissed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) attempt to strike down Colorado protections that limit rogue ICE enforcement, laws Gonzales led and passed in the Colorado legislature.
“The laws I passed to protect Colorado from federal overreach when it comes to rogue ICE enforcement might have made President Trump mad, but a judge just affirmed that they are, in fact, constitutional,” said Gonzales. “When I say that I’ve been battle-tested, this is precisely what I mean, and this is the caliber of leadership that Colorado needs in the U.S. Senate.”
Without those protections, local police could have been conscripted into Trump’s deportation machine, forced to use Colorado’s resources to carry out federal immigration enforcement against Colorado families. U.S. District Court Judge Gordon P. Gallagher said no, ruling that “the Constitution does not grant Congress the authority to ‘dragoon’ state officers into administering federal law” and fully dismissing the case.
The Trump administration filed the lawsuit in May 2025, less than four months after returning to power, targeting four state laws that Gonzales championed: House Bill 19-1124, Senate Bill 21-131, Senate Bill 21-1100, and Senate Bill 25-276, as well as two Denver ordinances. The laws prohibit state and local officials from cooperating with ICE agents without a judicial warrant or directing state resources toward federal civil immigration enforcement.
Gonzales passed SB 25-276 while Trump was actively filing his lawsuit. The DOJ amended its complaint to include the new law anyway. Judge Gallagher dismissed it.
Julie Gonzales is running for U.S. Senate in Colorado to build an economy that works for working families, not corporate lobbyists and billionaires. A lifelong organizer and State Senator from Denver, Julie has spent 20 years fighting alongside tenants, teachers, immigrants, and workers, turning those fights into real legislative results. Julie for Colorado is a people-powered campaign accepting no corporate PAC money.
To learn more about Julie for Colorado, visit JulieForColorado.com.
