Denver Democratic Mayor Mike Johnston announced that the Colorado metropolis will work with federal immigration authorities to deport illegal aliens suspected of committing violent crimes.

Johnston commented in an interview with local news that existing policies in Denver on assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement “finds a common-sense balance” between the prospects of “making sure we’re not having our local police doing federal law enforcement” and alerting the federal immigration agency “if they call for information on folks we have in custody.”

But the official said they would prevent immigration raids at schools, hospitals, and churches, adding that “we want to be both a welcoming city, and a city that serves all of our residents.”

The statement appears to mark a pivot from previous remarks made by Johnston, who told another local news outlet last fall that Denver would not be “bullied into changing” their values of functioning as a “welcoming, open, big-hearted city” toward illegal aliens.

Justice Department officials under the new administration of President Donald Trump indeed issued a memo last week which contends that the supremacy clause of the Constitution requires “state and local actors to comply with the executive branch’s immigration enforcement initiatives,” meaning that such officials could be charged with crimes or face prison time.

Democratic officials in recent weeks have promised to refuse cooperation with the Trump administration as they enforce immigration law. Arizona Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs said that her administration wants to secure the border but will not participate in mass deportations.

“I will not tolerate efforts that are part of misguided policies that harm our communities, that threaten our communities, that terrorize our communities, and Arizona will not take part in those,” she said. “We will not be participating in misguided efforts that harm our communities.”