Immigration advocates slam Polis over ICE policy as union joins whistleblower lawsuit
Colorado state Sen. Julie Gonzales speaks at a news conference with state union leaders in front of the Denver City and County Building on Monday. Gonzales criticized Gov. Jared Polis for his handling of an April 24 ICE subpoena. (Delilah Brumer/Colorado Newsline)
The union representing more than 27,000 state employees in Colorado announced Monday it is joining a whistleblower lawsuit against Gov. Jared Polis.
The lawsuit alleges that Polis improperly directed the state Labor Department to release the personal information of sponsors of unaccompanied immigrant children to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Union leaders, along with Towards Justice Executive Director David Seligman and state Sen. Julie Gonzales, argued at a Monday news conference in front of the Denver City and County Building that Polis had violated two state laws.
'We steadfastly oppose the unjust and cruel ICE raids that are ripping apart our families, our communities and our country, and we are outraged as state employees that our governor wanted us to actively support that assault on our community and make us as state workers, accomplices in an illegal and morally reprehensible act,' said Diane Byrne, the president of the union Colorado Workers for Innovative and New Solutions.
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President Donald Trump has pledged mass deportations, and his administration has undertaken an aggressive program of immigration enforcement throughout the country. Colorado is a particular focus of Trump's immigration agenda, and he has often singled out Aurora for scrutiny.
The lawsuit includes details of an April 24 subpoena from the Trump administration, that requested contact information, addresses, insurance records, unemployment benefit filings and employment information of 35 people who have assumed legal guardianship of unaccompanied children with pending immigration cases.
The lawsuit was filed in Denver District Court on June 4 by Scott Moss, director of the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics within the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. Moss alleges that he was directed last week to produce the sponsors' personally identifying information by the governor's office.
Lawyers for Polis said in a document filed with the court that Colorado will not comply with the subpoena until at least June 23, while the lawsuit proceeds.
The governor has broken the trust of Colorado community members and their families, educators, coworkers and friends.
– State Sen. Julie Gonzales
Gonzales, a Denver Democrat, was an author of two laws limiting data sharing of immigrants' personal information, which were signed in 2021 and earlier this year. Colorado law restricts state and local governments and their employees from disclosing non-public personal information 'for the purpose of investigating for, participating in, cooperating with, or assisting in federal immigration enforcement,' unless required by federal law or a court order.
'The governor has broken the trust of Colorado community members and their families, educators, coworkers and friends,' Gonzales said.
In response to the lawsuit, a governor's office spokesperson defended Polis' initial response to the subpoena, citing a commitment to 'preventing the illegal exploitation and trafficking of children.'
'The decision to respond to this federal subpoena due to concerns about potential crimes against vulnerable minors was carefully considered in accordance with Colorado law, which allows for sharing information to support timely criminal investigations,' spokesperson Shelby Wieman said in a statement. 'Keeping kids safe is a top priority, child exploitation is a deeply concerning issue, and has no place in our state. Complying with this federal subpoena meets the requirements laid out in state law and providing this information is in service of investigating and preventing any criminal activity, which Governor Polis is deeply committed to.'
The ICE subpoena said that the requested information could be used to combat human trafficking. But Gonzales said she does not believe ICE requested the information for the purpose of protecting immigrant children.
'You want me to believe that ICE is in any way interested in protecting children from harm?' Gonzales said. 'If they had been, they would have gone and gotten a warrant, they would have gone and talked to a judge.'
Seligman, executive director of the nonprofit law firm Towards Justice and a candidate for state attorney general, criticized Polis for allegedly complying with the ICE subpoena without an order from a judge. He also announced that Towards Justice is joining the whistleblower lawsuit.
'We cannot play Donald Trump's game,' Seligman said. 'We tell the people who call us that Colorado law says that they should feel comfortable filing their complaints with the Department of Labor, because Colorado will keep their information safe, because they have legal rights, because Colorado will not do the bidding of ICE. So the governor's cooperation with ICE flies in the face of Colorado law and basic principles of fairness.'
Seligman and other speakers stood at the press conference with dozens of union members who held signs criticizing ICE. One of them was airport worker Yemane Woldesilassie, an immigrant from Ethiopia and an SEIU Local 105 vice president.
'Our voice must be heard,' Woldesilassie said. 'Immigrants are working people, the ones who make this country the richest country in the world. This situation is unacceptable.'
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