DENVER — A whistleblower who accused Governor Jared Polis of ordering state employees to hand over personal information to federal immigration officials testified in court on Tuesday.
Scott Moss is a licensed attorney and the director of the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics in the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. Earlier this month, he filed a lawsuit in Denver County Court, alleging that he was ordered by the governor to turn over information about people providing homes to unaccompanied minors to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in compliance with a subpoena.
Moss believed giving ICE the information would violate state laws that ban state and local government agencies from sharing personal information with federal immigration officials.
The governor's office said the subpoena was concerning a criminal investigation involving child exploitation. A spokesperson said the state's immigrant privacy laws make an exception for criminal investigations, and the governor made the correct decision.
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In court on Tuesday, Moss testified that he's seen the number of tips and complaints about workplace violations skyrocket recently, attributing it to promises made by state officials to immigrants that their personal information would not be shared.
In addition to the morality, Moss said it's important to make sure there is trust between immigrants and the Department of Labor, so if there are any workplace violations or wage discrimination, the state can step in. He said wage law must be applied to everyone so no one sector of employees is exploited, leaving certain business owners to benefit from illegal wages.
When asked about the ICE subpoena, he testified that he was immediately resistant to Polis's order. Moss argued that the subpoena was administrative, part of the civil immigration process, and did not cite any active criminal investigation, meaning it did not meet the guidelines outlined in Colorado law.
While on the stand, Moss recalled a conversation he had with a supervisor in which he learned about the governor's decision to share the information.
"[A supervisor] said that the governor didn't want to be accused of not helping ICE prevent any harm that might be happening to any children. He said he'd seen no evidence and had not been told of evidence of harm, but he said that the governor — and I remember this word — that the criminal exception gave him 'cover,'" said Moss on the stand.
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State Senator Mike Weissman also testified on Tuesday. He was a cosponsor of Senate Bill 25-276, which provides additional protections to immigrants and their personal information. Polis signed the bill into law on May 23.
According to Weismann, under the law, the state would not give away personal information when it comes to civil immigration enforcement.
During their cross-examination, attorneys for the governor noted that entering the United States illegally is a crime and said administrative subpoenas are often used by federal agencies to assist in criminal investigations. They also said the language in SB25-276 prohibits state employees from interfering in federal criminal investigations.
Weissman was asked if requiring ICE agents to receive judicial approval at a courthouse for a subpoena might interfere with or slow down an investigation. The state senator said it would be due process.
Arguments are expected to wrap up on Wednesday, and then the judge will decide whether or not state employees must follow the subpoena.
