Latest news with #TowardsJustice
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Groups to join lawsuit against Polis over alleged ICE cooperation
DENVER (KDVR) — A lawsuit was filed against Governor Jared Polis after a state official said the governor ordered him to comply with a subpoena from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Monday, more groups announced they are joining the litigation and called out the governor in the process. The new groups include lawmakers, labor groups and immigration advocates, all calling out Polis for what they say is a violation of a law he just signed two weeks ago. Colorado joins lawsuit against ATF over deal ending ban on rapid-fire triggers for rifles 'Little did I know, y'all, Governor Polis would apparently ignore his own advisors, his agency directors and the very language he himself signed into law to bend the knee to a bunch of ICE goons who were too lazy to go and talk to a judge,' said Julie Gonzalez at the rally held Monday at the state capital. Gonzalez is a prime sponsor of two bills, SB21-131 and SB25-276. Supporters of the lawsuit are questioning whether the governor violated those bills. Bill sponsors along with other lawmakers, including some chamber leaders, are standing with unions representing state workers calling out the governor: supporting a lawsuit that alleges he instructed the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics Director of the State's Department of Labor and Employment to share what's known as PII or personal identifying information with ICE. Colorado Wins, Towards Justice and Colorado's AFL-CIO announced Monday they will be joining the lawsuit along with Scott Moss, the state department director who came forward with the allegation. Groups worry Homeland Security's request for information from the Department of Labor could have other intentions. 'If they are familiar with the undocumented community, they might be working in a location that has other undocumented workers. And so their work history which was part of the information that was requested, their workplace history could lead to targets of those workplaces,' said Diane Byrne, president of Colorado Wins. ICE said they were requesting the information for an investigation involving unaccompanied children in an effort to make sure the children were being properly cared for. But supporters of the lawsuit say nothing on the subpoena indicates this investigation is criminal rather than civil. 'There is nothing on the face of the subpoena that suggested that this is related to a criminal investigation. It cites the civil code, it has not been through any sort of judicial process. It was not issued by a court and not approved by a court. There is nothing here to suggest that this is related to a criminal investigation and it's unclear to us why the governor would be bending over backwards to try to find a justification that isn't there,' said David Seligman, Executive Director of Towards Justice. Colorado Senate Minority Leader Paul Lundeen resigns to take national position In a statement from the Governor's Office, a spokesperson told FOX31: '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. 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.' Spokesperson for Governor Jared Polis The CDLE whistleblower who filed the lawsuit, Scott Moss, was also in attendance Monday but did not want to speak on the matter at this time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Legal pressure mounts against Gov. Polis over ICE data disclosure
Legal pressure is mounting against Democratic Gov. Jared Polis after revelations that he ordered state officials to comply with an ICE subpoena and hand over personal data of undocumented children in Colorado to federal immigration agents. The latest: Colorado WINS — the union representing more than 27,000 state workers— civil rights group Towards Justice and labor organization Colorado AFL-CIOannounced Monday they're joining as plaintiffs on a whistleblower lawsuit filed last week by Scott Moss, a senior labor official in Polis' administration. The groups accuse the governor of "colluding" with ICE agents and violating multiple state laws that restrict cooperation with federal immigration enforcement in non-criminal matters. The intrigue: Polis has agreed not to act on the subpoena until after the judge rules on a request for a temporary restraining order and injunction, according to his attorney's court filing last week. The big picture: The backlash highlights growing fractures in Polis' support among labor leaders, civil rights advocates and Latino Democrats — many of whom viewed him as an ally. Just weeks ago, Polis signed a bill prohibiting state and local officials from collecting or sharing information about immigration status unless it directly involves a criminal investigation. What they're saying:"The actions that Gov. Polis has taken are undermining public trust in our state government," Colorado WINS president Diane Byrne said at a news briefing on the steps of Denver City Hall on Monday. "This action by the governor represents a betrayal to the immigrant community of our state," the Colorado Democratic Latino Caucus said in a statement Monday, adding that Polis has turned "his back on some of the most vulnerable residents." Catch up quick: On April 24, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security subpoenaed the state labor department for detailed records — including wage data, leave filings and home addresses — for 35 people sponsoring unaccompanied migrant children. According to the records, Polis initially resisted but later reversed, ordering staff to comply or face termination. The other side: The governor's office defends its action, saying it was a criminal matter. "We are committed to partnering on criminal investigations ... including to protect against human trafficking and child exploitation," Polis' spokesperson Eric Maruyama told us. Reality check: The subpoena reviewed by Axios Denver makes no mention of any open criminal investigation, nor is it court-ordered. Instead, the administrative request references broad "investigative activities" to ensure children released to sponsors were safe — citing general risks of trafficking or exploitation. Crucially, a checkbox on the subpoena that would formally classify the request as involving child exploitation was left blank. The bottom line: Polis' office appears to be casting a civil immigration enforcement request as a criminal matter — sidestepping state law to justify a politically risky decision of turning over immigrant data to ICE.
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Police action led to 54% drop in child marriages since '23: CM Himanta
Guwahati: Assam Police's stringent action towards child marriage since 2023 has resulted in a 54% reduction in such cases and a 63% reduction in teenage pregnancy. Sharing the information on his X handle, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma further said zero child marriage cases were reported in 30% of villages in the state. "We have a clear goal of zero child marriage in Assam by 2026. Assam's stern action against child marriage has resulted in a drastic decline in child marriage and teenage pregnancy in the state, which now is a nationwide success story," the CM said. Three crackdowns against child marriage have been conducted so far. The first crackdown was launched in Feb 2023, while the second was in Oct that year, and the third crackdown was conducted in Dec last year. Over 5,000 individuals, including those who married underage girls or encouraged or solemnised child marriage, were arrested altogether in the three crackdowns. The CM said over 96% of the 5,523 cases were chargesheeted, besides appointing child marriage prohibition officers to prevent such cases. The India Child Protection (ICP), in its report 'Towards Justice: Ending Child Marriage', last year stated that an 81% reduction in child marriages was observed across 20 districts of Assam between 2021-22 and 2023-24 due to effective legal interventions by the state. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Dermatologista recomenda: simples truque elimina o fungo facilmente Acabe com o Fungo Undo ICP attributed the notable decline to Assam's robust legal actions against child marriage. It may be mentioned that the director general of police (DGP) recently submitted before the Gauhati High Court, during the hearing of a petition seeking the introduction of laws mandating compulsory castration for individuals involved in gang rape, rape and murder, and rape of minors, that the state police maintain zero tolerance for crimes committed against women and children, and therefore such cases are regularly supervised.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Attorney David Seligman joins 2026 race for Colorado attorney general
Attorney David Seligman is running for Colorado attorney general in 2026. (Courtesy of David Seligman) Worker and consumer rights attorney David Seligman, executive director of the Denver-based progressive legal nonprofit Towards Justice, will join the 2026 race to be Colorado's next attorney general. Seligman, a Democrat, told Newsline Colorado voters need to know that he is 'new to politics, but I'm not new to this work.' He said he's spent his entire career 'fighting for regular people' in Colorado and across the country, and the role of attorney general is an extension of that work. 'I've seen how there are two sets of laws in this country — one for the rich and powerful and one for everybody else, and right now those problems are more acute than ever,' Seligman told Newsline. 'We're seeing the Trump administration and his billionaire backers dismantle the parts of the federal government that are really essential to protecting workers and consumers and small businesses and the environment, and now more than ever we need state AGs that not only are going to fill in the void left by the federal government, but that are going to fight for a better world.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Towards Justice represented a Colorado grocery store worker in a lawsuit against Kroger and Albertsons alleging the companies illegally colluded by entering into a 'no poach' agreement amid a 2022 strike against King Soopers. Seligman's organization also represented UCHealth patients who alleged a third-party collections vendor's lawsuits against patients of the hospital violated state law. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is term-limited and announced he will run for Colorado governor in 2026. The Democrat joined a growing number of legal challenges to Trump administration policies. Seligman said Weiser has done 'a terrific job of fighting back against the abuses of the Trump administration,' but he thinks 'we need to double down even more' to protect the rights of Colorado consumers and workers. He said the office of attorney general 'can be put back on the side of regular people' and 'make people's lives better' while also challenging actions from the Trump administration. Early supporters for Seligman's campaign include some of the Colorado Legislature's most progressive members. Supporters include Colorado state Sens. Julie Gonzales and Mike Weissman, House Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, House Majority Whip Elizabeth Valesco, Denver City Council member Sarah Parady, and state Reps. Meg Froelich, Lorena Garcia, Javier Mabrey, Emily Sirota, Steven Woodrow and Yara Zokaie, according to the campaign. 'Our campaign will be based on renewed hope that we can and will hold powerful, corrupt interests accountable and make them play by the same rules as the rest of us, so that regular people have a fighting chance to achieve the American dream we all seek,' Seligman said in a statement announcing his run. The attorney general heads the Colorado Department of Law and oversees enforcement of consumer protection and antitrust laws, defends state laws in legal challenges, and advocates for law enforcement and community safety. Other Democrats running for attorney general include Secretary of State Jena Griswold, Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty and former speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives Crisanta Duran. Conner Peddington is the only Republican candidate to file paperwork in the race so far. Primary elections to decide party nominees for state offices will be held in June 2026. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
