Denver is on track to join a growing number of Democrat-led cities that are trying to restrict immigration enforcement operations after the City Council unanimously gave initial approval Monday to a ban on officers wearing masks. All 13 members of the council voted in favor of the new law, which would ban all law enforcement officers — including those with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — from wearing facial coverings while detaining or arresting people. It would also require them to wear visible identification. “We took it for granted that law enforcement wasn’t wearing masks, and it’s not anything that we ever planned or thought of passing, until last year — when we started seeing masked agents harassing people across our country, and even before we saw anyone get murdered,” said Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez, one of the sponsors of the legislation. The ordinance, which cleared a block vote Monday, still needs approval on final reading next week. If passed, it will go into effect immediately after Mayor Mike Johnston signs the measure. In a meeting with council members last week, Johnston thanked the bill’s sponsors for their work and said he looked forward to supporting it. The ordinance would make Denver one of several Democrat-led cities to pass new laws hindering ICE activity during President Donald Trump’s second term. Mayors in Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, Chicago and St. Paul have all signed executive orders in the last few weeks attempting to restrict ICE activity. The local laws are likely…
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