By Jennifer Brown, The Colorado Sun, and Megan Verlee, CPR News
Gov. Jared Polis ordered the state labor department to turn over personal information about people who are providing homes for unaccompanied immigrant children after receiving a subpoena from the Trump administration, according to a whistleblower lawsuit filed Wednesday.
The details of the subpoena were revealed in the lawsuit filed by a director in the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, who argues that turning over the information is a violation of state law.
The April 24 subpoena from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requests the unemployment benefit filings, insurance records and employer information of 35 people who are sponsors of unaccompanied minors. It also requests their addresses, as well as telephone and email contact information.
The whistleblower case was filed in state district court in Denver by Scott Moss, who is director of the state Division of Labor Standards and Statistics. It details a battle between Moss and the governor’s office in which Moss has argued since April that turning over the personal information is illegal.
Moss said that a day after receiving the subpoena, the governor’s office told him that it was analyzing its “rights and options” before making a decision about whether to comply. In early May, he was told that Polis had decided not to produce the information, but then was told this week that the governor had reversed course and that Moss must produce the personal information.
Moss alleges in the lawsuit that he is “directed to commit the illegal acts” that violate state laws Polis signed in 2021 and 2025. The laws said government agencies and their employees “shall not disclose ... personal identifying information that is not publicly available information for the purpose of investigating for, participating in, cooperating with, or assisting in federal immigration enforcement, including enforcement of civil immigration laws.”
Unaccompanied children are minors who crossed the border and were detained by immigration authorities, then released to “sponsors” while their immigration cases are pending. The subpoena noted that authorities were seeking information about sponsors of unaccompanied minors, including quarterly wage reports, schedules, employer’s name and address, and records filed under the Family and Medical Leave Insurance program, the lawsuit says.
“The Polis directive to collaborate with ICE is illegal,” the lawsuit states. “It also harms an unknown but potentially large number of state employees, by directing them to commit illegal acts, risking a wide range of professional and personal harms, including personal penalties of up to $50,000 per violation under the legislation Gov. Polis himself signed into law.”
In response to the lawsuit, a spokesman for Gov. Polis defended the decision to cooperate with the subpoena, saying it was consistent with carveouts in the law for criminal investigations.
“Helping our federal law enforcement partners locate and, if necessary, rescue children being abused and trafficked is not only in line with the law but also a moral imperative,” said spokesman Eric Maruyama. “ It is important to produce records in accordance with criminal investigations to ensure the safety of Coloradans and, most importantly, to protect and ensure the safety of children. Attempts to delay or block this information could prolong criminal exploitation and abuse of children, and we are eager to assist. We would comply unless a court deems otherwise.”
The Democratic lawmakers who sponsored this year’s law limiting information sharing with ICE said they were deeply disappointed and concerned by Polis’ order. They say they were negotiating the bill with the governor’s office at the same time he was considering this request from ICE, but were not made aware of it.
“These type of actions erode the public trust that people have in government,” said Rep. Elizabeth Velasco of Glenwood Springs. “We continue to tell people to do the right thing, to follow the laws, to do what we ask. But people are scared to share their private information and this is why.”
The lawmakers said they do not agree with Polis’ assessment that complying with the subpoena fits under the part of the law that allows state officials to cooperate with criminal investigations.
“If this had been an actual criminal investigation accompanied by a subpoena issued by a criminal court, no question comply, turn over documents,” Sen. Mike Weissman of Aurora said. “That's not what's going on here. I've seen nothing that gives me basis to believe, ‘Hey, there's actual concern here about trafficking children.’”
In April and May, armed federal agents conducted unannounced home visits throughout Colorado on the listed guardians of unaccompanied minors, CPR News reported.
While an ICE spokesperson told CPR News the investigation was part of a national effort to ensure these children are safe, an ICE document providing guidance for the effort did not emphasize concerns about trafficking. Instead, it listed other motives for the check-ins, including creating a database of the locations of unaccompanied minors, determining whether they are complying with their responsibilities to immigration courts, and learning whether they have committed criminal offenses before arrival or while in the U.S. — all possible preludes to removal from the country.
Moss is requesting an immediate restraining order to block compliance with the subpoena. He said he was told on Tuesday by the governor's office that he must produce the personal information by Friday.
Trump administration critics, however, said they do not believe ICE's claims that they need the information to protect children.
"Trump's not interested in keeping people safe — he's using immigration enforcement to protect corporate lawbreakers that want to exploit people who will be too fearful to report labor violations," David Seligman, executive director of Towards Justice, said in an emailed statement. "That's bad for workers, bad for law-abiding businesses, and bad for Colorado. The state shouldn't be playing his game."
The lawsuit was first reported on Thursday by The Lever.
Colorado Capitol Alliance
This story was produced by the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, and shared with Rocky Mountain Community Radio and other news organizations across the state. Funding for the Alliance is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
