The Daily Fuckup

A federal judge in Colorado has dismissed the Justice Department’s lawsuit over Colorado and Denver immigration restrictions, ending the case at the pleading stage. U.S. District Judge Gordon P. Gallagher issued the order on March 31, 2026, and granted dismissal motions filed by the state defendants and Denver.

The lawsuit challenged a cluster of Colorado statutes and Denver policies that limit how state and local officials collect or share personal information, when they may hold people for immigration authorities, and how they may assist federal immigration officers seeking access to detainees. The government argued those laws were preempted by federal immigration law and unlawfully singled out federal officials for bad treatment.

Gallagher rejected that theory. In the opinion, he wrote that the Supremacy Clause bars states from conflicting with federal law, but does not give the federal government power to compel state or local assistance. He said the Justice Department’s reading of federal immigration authority would require state participation, which runs into the Tenth Amendment and anti-commandeering precedent, including Printz, New York, and Murphy.

The ruling leaves the federal government free to enforce immigration law on its own, but not to turn Colorado or Denver into unwilling partners through this lawsuit. It also aligns the Colorado case with similar federal decisions in other states that have treated sanctuary-style policies as a choice not to participate in civil immigration enforcement rather than a constitutional violation.