DENVER — A Denver judge on Wednesday ruled that certain state employees do not have to comply with a subpoena from immigration authorities, even if the governor directs them to do so.
Denver District Court Judge A. Bruce Jones granted a temporary, preliminary injunction in the case against Colorado Governor Jared Polis, who is being sued by Scott Moss, director of the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics in the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.
"This is not about the governor or myself or any state agency," Moss said during a press conference a day after the ruling. "It's about the families, the caregivers, and yes, the children that the state feigned concern for, but that in reality, ICE was targeting."
In a statement, a spokesperson for the governor said they are "reviewing the court’s preliminary ruling to determine next steps in this matter," and that they "will abide by the court’s decision."
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Lawsuit: Employee claims Polis directed him to give sensitive information to ICE
In his lawsuit, Moss claims the governor directed him and other state employees to turn over personal information about people providing homes to unaccompanied minors to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in violation of Colorado law.
The lawsuit asserts that on April 24, the state received a subpoena from ICE seeking information about people providing homes to unaccompanied minors. At the time, Moss believed turning over that information to ICE would be illegal under Colorado law, which bans state and local governments from sharing personal information with federal immigration officials.
Attorneys for Moss argue that Polis made the decision to honor the request from ICE.
"When immigrants report illegal conduct to the state or use state services they've paid into — like unemployment, like family benefits, or when immigrants use basic services, like health care, sending their kids to school — disclosing the personally identifying information of immigrants and others who did nothing more than use state services and report violations to the state that the state asked them to report would be a betrayal of trust," said Moss. "It would break our promises that we made as state workers, as leaders of state agencies, and yes, as the governor. It would break the trust that we invited and asked immigrants and others to put in their public servants and their institutions."
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The governor's office told Denver7 the subpoena was concerning a criminal investigation into child exploitation. A spokesperson for Polis claimed that under those circumstances, there was an exemption in this case from the state's immigrant policy.
"Governor Polis remains committed to fully and promptly cooperating with federal criminal investigations into child trafficking and exploitation, while protecting unaccompanied children in Colorado," a statement from the governor's office reads.
Claims of a criminal investigation have been disputed by Moss's attorneys.
According to our partners at the Denver Post, the judge decided Polis or other state officials can respond to the subpoena, but deemed it would be "problematic" if personal information was disclosed to ICE without alerting the individuals involved.
"The governor's office also provided no notice to any of those people listed in the subpoena that they had actually been listed and that their information was going to be turned over to ICE," said Laura Wolf, one of Moss's attorneys. "We pushed so hard on that in court yesterday, and the court said that it would be, quote, very problematic, if they were to ever turn over this information to ICE without first notifying these individuals so they could assert their rights. And that is a huge victory."
- Read the full lawsuit below
The lawsuit against Polis is ongoing, with Moss acknowledging this will likely be a long road ahead.
"This is the first battle in a long war," said Moss. "We are gathering evidence and will be in the coming weeks and months. Stay tuned. It's going to be good."
According to Moss, the injunction extends to all state employees within the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics. However, during a press conference on Thursday, a union connected to the case revealed they have allegedly identified more state employees who were directed to comply with the ICE subpoena.
The union, Colorado Workers for Innovative and New Solutions (WINS), sent a letter to Polis on Thursday asking for confirmation that he will not direct any other state employees to comply with the ICE subpoena at the center of the lawsuit.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Polis said they will review the letter, adding, "Governor Polis is proud of the work his administration has done to expand collective bargaining rights to state employees.”
On Wednesday, the court ruled that Colorado WINS lacked a sufficient connection with this case to officially join Moss.
According to Wolf, they are now waiting for a response to the complaint from Polis' team. She said the defense attorneys have requested an extension of two weeks for that response, which she is not opposing.
"In that two-week period, I hope that they realize that they shouldn't pursue the case any further, and that they should agree that they will not comply under the subpoena," Wolf said. "But we'll wait and see what they decide to do."
- Read the full statement from Governor Polis' Office below
We are reviewing the court’s preliminary ruling to determine next steps in this matter. We will abide by the court’s decision as we have always said we would. Governor Polis remains committed to fully and promptly cooperating with federal criminal investigations into child trafficking and exploitation, while protecting unaccompanied children in Colorado. We hope that if information is needed for criminal investigations, going forward, HSI will provide subpoenas for state information consistent with this ruling to ensure prompt processing. We will review the WINS letter. Governor Polis is proud of the work his administration has done to expand collective bargaining rights to state employees.
