Did Gov. Jared Polis hand over Coloradans’ personal information to federal immigration officials?
He won’t say.
Shelby Wieman, a spokesperson for Polis, declined to respond to a question Monday about how the state has handled nine subpoenas received from the feds since February seeking personal information about Coloradans.
Some of the subpoenas – obtained and published by The Colorado Sun on Friday – appear to be very similar to a subpoena that a judge last month found violated Colorado law aimed at protecting Coloradans’ personal information.
Eight of the subpoenas came from Immigration and Customs Enforcement or its subagency Homeland Security Investigations and one came from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General.
The requests to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of Revenue Marijuana Enforcement Division and the Department of Public Health and Environment seek all kinds of information, including names, wages, birthdays, social security numbers and addresses.
They come as ICE has quadrupled the number of arrests made in Colorado under President Donald Trump.
Colorado law prohibits state agencies from providing immigration officials with personal information unless it is part of a criminal investigation. Last month, a state judge ruled that one of the subpoenas sent by ICE to Colorado’s labor department in April did not meet that exception.
The ruling came only after a labor department employee, Scott Moss, sued the governor, arguing that complying with the subpoena would be illegal. The judge barred Polis from requiring Moss to comply with the subpoena.
That subpoena sought personal information of 35 adults who are caring for unaccompanied immigrant children in Colorado. It was labeled “immigration enforcement subpoena” and was not signed by a judge. It referenced “investigative activities” to locate the minors and ensure they are not being trafficked or exploited.
Polis had ordered the labor department to comply with the subpoena until Moss filed his lawsuit and the governor agreed to hold off while the case was heard.
Similarly, none of the other eight subpoenas obtained by The Sun appear to have been signed by a judge.
Four of them are labeled “CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ENFORCEMENT SUBPOENA,” three are labeled “IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT SUBPOENA” and one is “SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM,” a Latin term for a request for information.
State Sen. Mike Weissman, an Aurora Democrat who worked on legislation to keep personal information from ICE, said he does not think any of the subpoenas comply with the criminal investigation exception in the law.
“This kind of nonjudicially approved fishing expedition is exactly why we continue to encourage robust compliance with the state legal framework in defense of Coloradans’ personally identifying information,” he said.
The requests appear to be very broad, Moss said in an interview Monday.
For example, on Feb. 28, ICE sent a “controlled substances enforcement” subpoena to the Department of Public Health and Environment seeking a list of all individuals born in Colorado on Feb. 8, 2004, and Feb. 8, 2005.
“I can’t see compliance being lawful without further inquiry into what ICE is claiming is a drug investigation that requires information on easily thousands of Coloradans,” he said.
Moss’ boss, Joe Barela, who heads the Colorado labor department, testified last month that he believes the state responded to a subpoena from ICE in March.
An ICE subpoena from March obtained by The Sun is labeled “immigration enforcement subpoena,” and seeks “employee records and wages reported to the Department of Labor for the period of June 1, 2024 – Present” for a business whose name is redacted.
Moss said he believes the March subpoena does not comply with state law.
“There’s no argument for responding,” he said.
