In Denver, where “New to Country” students jumped by nearly 5,000 last year, school board members are vowing to fight President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to deport illegal immigrants.

Denver Public School board member Scott Esserman told those who attended a Nov. 7 work session that it’s the “responsibility” of public school officials to shield families in the country illegally from federal immigration officials, KMGH reports.

“If you are a student who is undocumented or a family who is undocumented, we will take care of you,” Esserman said. “That is our responsibility; we’re here to do that. I think it’s important that you hear that.”

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Esserman detailed how the district absorbed 4,763 New to Country students who enrolled during the 2023-24 school year, with state lawmakers approving an additional $24 million statewide to compensate schools for the influx.

The 4,763 students dwindled to 3,941 by the end of the 2023-24 school year, and another 20% dropped off before the start of 2024-25 in September.

“There’s no question, it was overwhelming for a lot of our educators, who are committed to serving every did who comes in to their classroom, regardless of how many kids are in their classroom, regardless of what their circumstances are,” he said. “But we were well positioned as a district, so it was shifting resources and not creating them.”

Denver is expected to slash its $90 million budget to support illegal immigrants who have flocked to the city’s promise of housing and transportation to $12 million next year, as the flood has dried to a trickle in recent months, the Denver Gazette reports.

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About 40,000 migrants have made their way to the Mile High City over the last two years, which is the largest influx on a per capita basis in the country. With the surge came members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua, which has reportedly taken over apparent complexes in nearby Aurora, the New York Post reports.

Regardless, Esserman vowed to defy federal officials expected to carry out what Trump describes as the “largest deportation operation in American history” when he takes office next year.

“We know we have the legal authority to not allow ICE in any of our buildings,” Esserman said. “We know that we have the legal authority to not share student data. We know that we can do what we can to ensure that we’re not participating whatsoever in these efforts and that we’re doing everything we can to ensure that these families not just feel, but are, safe.”

“We have kids who are here, who deserve to learn and deserve to go to school and deserve to feel safe,” he said. “Whatever data we have, we will not share, and we have the legal authority and the legal right to not share.”

Esserman isn’t the only Denver politician to push back on Trump’s plan to remove immigrants in the country illegally.

Mayor Mike Johnston has threatened to leverage Denver police and 50,000 residents “stationed at the county line” to block federal immigration enforcement.

“More than us having DPD stationed at the county line to keep them out, you would have 50,000 Denverites there,” Johnston told Denverite last week. “It’s like the Tiananmen Square moment with the rose and the gun, right? You’d have every one of those Highland moms who came out for the migrants. And you don’t want to mess with them.”

The comments drew criticism from Xi Van Fleet, a survivor of Mao’s revolution in China, who told Fox Business Johnson is “either profoundly ignorant of the history, or he did the false analogy on purpose.”

On Friday, Johnston walked back his comments in an interview with KUSA.

“Would I have taken it back if I could? Yes, I probably wouldn’t have used that image,” Johnston said. “That’s the image I hope we can avoid. What I was trying to say is this is an outcome I hope we can avoid in this country. I think none of us want that.”

Johnston possible arrest won’t deter him from opposing the deportations, and he’s willing to go to jail, if necessary.

“Yeah, I’m not afraid of that, and I’m also not seeking that,” he said of potential arrest. “I think the goal is we want to be able to negotiate with reasonable people how to solve hard problems.”

Johnston’s administration is “gonna look at every option” to protect illegal immigrants, he said, predicting students will rise up to thwart the federal crackdown.

“I talked to some high school kids this week who were terrified about this,” he said. “I don’t think those kids are gonna stand there and watch three of their classmates get pulled out of a history class while the other 27 stand by and do nothing. I don’t think that’s what Denverites or Americans would do in this context at all.”

Others who have vowed to defy Trump’s deportation plans include Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who promised to uphold the state’s sanctuary status, as well as Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, and Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, Fox News reports.

Thomas Homan, a former immigration agent and Trump’s pick for border czar, issued a message to those folks just days after voters elected Trump the 47^th POTUS.

“If they’re not willing to help, then get the hell out of the way because ICE is going to do their job,” Homan told Fox News, predicting governments who block those efforts will lose federal funding.