Did Colorado’s Lax Approach to Immigration Enable Alleged Boulder Terrorist Who Set Pro-Israel Marchers on Fire?

(Daily Signal)—A long train of policy failures allowed Mohamed Sabry Soliman, the suspect in Sunday’s terrorist attack on pro-Israel marchers in Boulder, to remain in the U.S., and in Colorado specifically, critics say.

The Centennial State has enacted a broad swath of “sanctuary” policies in recent years, preventing state and local law enforcement from alerting Immigration and Customs Enforcement about illegal aliens’ immigration status and allowing illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses and state benefits.

Critics say this lax enforcement created an atmosphere that enabled Soliman to overstay his work permit.

“Less than a month ago, Colorado Democrats stood and applauded the expansion of our state’s radical sanctuary laws—laws that fine law enforcement up to $50,000 for cooperating with ICE,” state Rep. Jarvis Caldwell, R-Colo., told The Daily Signal in a statement Tuesday.

“Now, one of the very individuals they’re protecting has brutally attacked Jewish Coloradans in Boulder,” Caldwell added. “These policies do not keep our communities safe. They enable violence, strain our resources, and make Colorado a sanctuary for chaos—not law and order.”

Soliman faces a federal hate crime charge and 16 state counts of attempted first-degree murder after he allegedly used a “makeshift flamethrower” and Molotov cocktails to attack citizens who were marching in honor of the hostages Hamas militants kidnapped from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. He reportedly shouted, “Free Palestine!” amid the attack. The attack injured 12 people, many of whom are still recovering in the hospital.

A spokesperson for the Colorado House Democrats expressed outrage at the notion of questioning immigration policies in the wake of the attack.

“As a Jew, I find it both sickening and appalling that anyone would use an attack on our community to try to score political points, especially while the wounded are still in the hospital,” Jarrett Freedman told The Daily Signal.

When asked about “sanctuary” bills like SB 21-131, which restricts state employees from disclosing immigration information to ICE unless a court orders it, he noted that some Republicans voted for the measure.

“Before people are tempted to make that particular law a partisan issue, national outlets should be aware that the bill had bipartisan support,” he said. While six Republican senators and one Republican representative voted for the legislation, Democrats still led the charge for it, and it represents only one in a slew of “sanctuary” measures.

Centennial State House Republicans have filed legislation to enable ICE to work with local law enforcement, and Democrats have killed these bills in committee.

The Biden Administration’s Role

The White House blamed former President Joe Biden’s administration for allowing Soliman to enter the country.

“The Biden Admin granted the alien a visa and then, when he illegally overstayed, they gave him a work permit,” Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, posted on X.

“The suspect, Mohamed Soliman, is illegally in our country,” Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, told The Daily Signal in a statement Tuesday. “He entered the country in August 2022 on a B2 visa that expired in February 2023. He filed for asylum in September 2022.”

“He was granted a work authorization in March 2023—that expired,” McLaughlin added.

Is Colorado a ‘Sanctuary State?’

Yet the tragic attack may also highlight Colorado’s laws on immigration.

“Both Colorado and Biden administration policies allowed this attack to take place,” Lora Ries, director of The Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, told The Daily Signal in a statement Tuesday. “The sanctuary state of Colorado facilitated illegal residence with multiple benefits and Biden’s DHS permitted Soliman to overstay his expired federal immigration benefits.”

While the Department of Homeland Security had listed Colorado as a sanctuary state, Gov. Jared Polis, D-Colo., contested the claim. “Colorado is not a sanctuary state, despite this completely incorrect designation from DHS,” Polis told a Colorado Springs Fox News affiliate.

Yet in 2019, lawmakers passed and Polis signed HB 19-1124, which prevents Colorado law enforcement from arresting or detaining an individual based on an ICE notice of illegal status. The bill also prohibits probation officers from providing a person’s immigration status to federal authorities.

In 2020, Polis signed SB 20-083, which prohibits civil courthouse arrests, a practice ICE uses to enforce immigration law. In 2021, he signed SB 21-131 and SB 21-1194, which earmarked $100,000 to pay for legal representation for immigrants.

Polis also signed SB 21-199, which repeals requirements that residents prove their lawful presence in the U.S. to receive public benefits.

Last year, the governor signed HB 24-1280, which created a “welcome, reception, & integration grant program.” The law earmarked $2.5 million in grants “to community-based organizations that provide culturally and linguistically appropriate navigation of services and programs to migrants who are within one year of arrival in the United States.”

Last month, he signed SB 25-276, which bars state jails from holding illegal aliens so ICE can enforce immigration law. The new law also makes it easier for aliens to receive public benefits such as in-state college tuition and a driver’s license.

Polis’ office did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment by publication time.