A Colorado judge ruled Wednesday that the governor cannot force a state employee to turn over the personal information of sponsors of unaccompanied immigrant children to federal immigration officials.
Denver District Court Judge A. Bruce Jones said in issuing a preliminary injunction that Gov. Jared Polis’ plan to have a division of the state labor department turn over information of about 35 Coloradans to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in response to a subpoena from the agency would likely violate state laws meant to protect immigrants’ data.
The state laws, signed by Polis in 2021 and 2025, prevent Colorado officials from sharing Coloradans’ personal information with ICE unless it is being used for a criminal investigation.
But Jones stopped short of prohibiting the governor from finding another way to comply with a subpoena.
“I will not go broader than that,” Jones said. “I will not enjoin the governor from otherwise responding to this subpoena if that’s what he wants to do.”
The limited ruling is still a blow to Polis, who has been blasted by fellow Democrats for trying to comply with the subpoena. Two state lawmakers – Sens. Mike Weissman and Julie Gonzales, both Democrats – testified against him in court this week.
In May, Polis decided to comply with the subpoena from ICE, which was received by the state’s labor department in April seeking information about the sponsors. But Scott Moss, the director of Colorado’s Division of Labor Standards and Statistics, sued the governor earlier this month to try to block the disclosure from happening, citing the state laws.
Moss argues ICE wants the information to try to locate and deport the minors.
“The statute is about the personal, private information of immigrants and those who work with immigrants,” he said. “If that promise is broken, then the state cannot be trusted. If there’s a desire to turn over this information, then Gov. Polis and the Legislature need to amend the law, rather than violate first and amend later.”
Jones’ ruling Wednesday applies only to Moss and the employees he supervises.
Polis’ spokesperson and lawyer insist that ICE needs the information for a criminal investigation into child abuse, but his team has not pointed to any alleged crimes committed by the sponsors, who are adults vetted by the federal government to care for unaccompanied immigrant children while their cases play out.
Once Moss sued, Polis agreed to hold off on sending ICE the information until a court ruled in the case.
Moss’ boss, Joe Barela, the executive director of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, told the judge during three days of testimony this week that he is not aware of evidence that the children aren’t being properly cared for or of an active criminal investigation into their well-being.
ICE is seeking state wage reports, employer contact information, unemployment benefit filings, family and medical leave records, as well as addresses, telephone numbers and emails, for the 35 adults.
“This isn’t a criminal investigation at all,” Moss’ lawyer, Laura Wolf, told the judge. “It’s essentially a fishing expedition.”
