The angst from Democratic lawmakers, state employees and others regarding Gov. Jared Polis’ decision to cooperate with federal immigration authorities is growing.

The federal government is information on unaccompanied minor children that could be tied to child trafficking

A rally Monday at the Denver City and County building brought together supporters, including a state employee union, of a lawsuit that seeks to stop that cooperation.

At the rally, a state lawmaker questioned the governor’s leadership, the latest in a staccato of criticism directed at Polis. 

Meanwhile, the governor has delayed a requirement for a state official to comply with an administrative subpoena from Immigrations and Custom Enforcement that sought information on 35 individuals.

On Monday, the governor’s office pushed back the deadline for compliance with the subpoena to June 23. ICE originally requested that the information be provided by June 6.

Polis, in an interview last week with Colorado Politics, said he believes his directive to state employees to comply is legal under previous laws and under Senate Bill 276, which he signed in May. The state “was asked to help with the criminal investigation to make sure the kids were safe and not being exploited,” he said. 

“I would argue this is the kind of cooperation that can legally occur before 276, and 276 explicitly allows for cooperation with a criminal investigation,” the governor said. “If we have any information that might be used” to help, the state can get that to the proper authorities without delays from the courts.

The state, however, “does not represent that we have all the information that is being requested,” Polis said. But “we want to cooperate where we can to protect these kids.”

Immigration officers have shared some details with the state, Polis said, but added that they want to make sure these kids are not being exploited or trafficked, and, “if there’s any way we can help to do that we’ll do so,” he said.

A spokesperson for Polis noted the delay on Tuesday, telling Colorado Politics, “The state regrets this delay in response to the subpoena caused by this legal challenge, hopes it is resolved quickly, and views the delay in protecting these children as very unfortunate.”

The day before the original June 6 deadline, Scott Moss, director of the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics for the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, filed a lawsuit against Polis, seeking an injunction that would put that federal request on hold.

The lawsuit filed in Denver District Court claimed the governor had directed him and potentially other state employees to provide ICE personally identifying information of at least dozens, and possibly more, individuals in response to an administrative subpoena that the federal agency served to enforce immigration law.

The information sought by ICE could include personal information on household and family members, coworkers, employers and the children themselves, the lawsuit claimed. The population of individuals whose personal information is being sought is, therefore, “far greater” than just the subpoena population, the lawsuit said.

“The Polis directive to collaborate with ICE is illegal,” the lawsuit said. “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 Governor Polis himself signed into law.”

That’s a reference to Senate Bill 276, which Polis signed into law on May 23, as well as previous legislation adopted in 2019 and 2021 that prohibits state and local government employees from providing personally identifying information to immigration authorities.

A rally Monday at the Denver City and County building brought together those who support Moss, including the state employee union Colorado WINS and Towards Justice.

State Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, a co-sponsor of SB 276, also spoke at the rally, questioning Polis’ leadership, although stopping short of calling on him to resign.

Polis is taking heavy criticism for “colluding” with ICE, according to some quarters.

The Colorado General Assembly’s Democratic Latino Caucus stated that as the immigration enforcement tactics of the Trump administration become increasingly drastic, “it is now more important than ever that we as the state of Colorado reaffirm our commitment to due process, freedom of speech and the rights of all our residents.”

“This is the exact opposite of what Governor Polis has chosen to do. A lawsuit filed last week revealed that Polis directed his staff to comply with an administrative subpoena that would have given ICE and other federal law enforcement agencies access to the personally identifying information of unaccompanied minors in Colorado,” the caucus said in the statement.

The caucus called Polis’ action “a betrayal of the immigrant community of our state, and is a direct contradiction to a bill he signed only a mere two weeks ago,” referring to SB25-276.

That bill, the caucus said, was “brokered in good faith with the Governor and his team, only for him to turn his back on some of the most vulnerable residents of our state.”

Towards Justice, Colorado WINS and Colorado AFL-CIO said Monday they are joining in the lawsuit to support Moss.

A statement from Towards Justice said the ICE administrative subpoena was neither issued nor approved by any court.

David Seligman, executive director of Towards Justice and a candidate for attorney general, added that working people, including immigrants, have been promised that they can report abuse without fearing their information would be turned over to ICE.

“Towards Justice refers hundreds of workers to the CDLE every year with that assurance. The Governor’s cooperation with ICE, as alleged, is a betrayal of that promise and undermines the very system we rely on to enforce labor rights in this state,” he said.