State labor union, lawmakers blast Gov. Jared Polis over ICE subpoena, decry immigration crackdowns

The head of Colorado s state employee union on Monday blasted Gov Jared Polis decision to fulfill a federal immigration subpoena calling it morally reprehensible as labor advocates and elected agents decried personnel widening crackdowns Questions mounted too over the legality of the governor s move to turn over personal information to the agency leading the Trump administration s mass deportation efforts prompting a news conference that drew advocates as well as state lawmakers Last week a state official sued Polis to try to stop his office from responding to the subpoena from an arm of U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement We are outraged as state employees that our governor needed us to actively help that assault on our district and make us as state workers accomplices in an illegal and morally reprehensible act Colorado WINS president Diane Byrne announced during the news conference outside Denver city hall The frustration with Polis comes amid deepening division around federal immigration enforcement nationally Marines and National Guard troops have been deployed in Los Angeles in response to protests against immigration enforcement Speakers in Denver on Monday called for the release of a California labor leader who was injured and arrested by immigration officers over the weekend Colorado WINS along with the state s AFL-CIO chapter is set to join the lawsuit filed by Scott Moss a director within the state Department of Labor and Employment accusing Polis of violating state law that regulates how information can be shared with immigration functionaries The suit accuses Polis of personally deciding to turn over personal information about the sponsors of unaccompanied undocumented children to Immigration and Customs Enforcement despite Moss protests in internal discussions that it was illegal and would violate the trust of immigrants Polis office has maintained that it can legally turn over the information because the subpoena is part of a specific criminal review regarding child abuse But his office has not provided evidence supporting that claim beyond pointing to the subpoena itself A copy of the subpoena obtained by The Denver Post does not describe a specific criminal study It cites a civil statute related to deportations and describes investigative sessions intended to proactively check on children and ensure their safety rather than a response to claims of abuse On Monday Polis spokeswoman Shelby Wieman pointed to a latest message from the U S Department of Homeland Guard about its efforts to check on children The agency revealed it had revealed cases of child exploitation and abuse elsewhere among unaccompanied minors These welfare checks are not primarily immigration enforcement focused DHS wrote of its efforts to find and contact undocumented children but if ICE agents or officers encounter individuals who are in the United States illegally they take them into custody and process them for removal in accordance with federal immigration law Several Democratic lawmakers attended Monday s press conference which came shortly after an initial court hearing in Moss lawsuit One legislator Sen Julie Gonzales of Denver questioned how Polis can continue to think that he can lead our state She later deflected when petitioned if she was calling on Polis to resign Questions about scrutiny Moss first hearing in Denver District Court was a largely administrative affair with a more determinative hearing set for June Moss alleges that Polis initially declined to comply with a subpoena sent in late April by ICE which sought employment and personal information about the sponsors of unaccompanied and undocumented children But Moss wrote the governor later personally decided to fulfill the request and ordered Moss and other state employees to comply The subpoena which is not signed by a judge seeks personal information about the sponsors who are typically relatives caring for the kids while they await deportation proceedings Polis reversal came shortly after he signed Senate Bill which expands restrictions in the law limiting how state employees can share content with immigration bureaucrats Polis decision violates state law Moss alleges He s asking a judge to rule that Polis request is illegal Through his lawyer Polis has agreed not to fulfill the subpoena until a judge rules on the legality of the governor s directive Rally-goers hold signs during a rally and news conference on the east strategies of the City and County Building in Denver on June Labor and civil rights leaders held the event in response to continuing immigration crackdowns by federal functionaries and a dispute over whether Colorado should comply with an ICE subpoena Photo by Helen H Richardson The Denver Post Wieman reported the state after allegedly resolving not to respond to the subpoena for roughly a month now regretted the delay caused by Moss lawsuit Polis office repeatedly maintained that it could fulfill the subpoena because it was related to a specific assessment regarding child exploitation abuse and trafficking spokesman Eric Maruyama declared Thursday State law allows information-sharing with ICE if the information is part of a criminal assessment or if the subpoena is signed by a judge The subpoena refers to investigative engagements and states that ICE is seeking employment information of sponsors to ensure that these children are appropriately located properly cared for and are not subjected to crimes of human trafficking or other forms of exploitation The subpoena does not provide any indication that ICE has received charges that misconduct is taking place It does not reference a specific criminal probe Above that description is a box that ICE functionaries could check if the subpoena was in regard to an study involving child exploitation and or transmission of child pornography via the internet The box is not checked The statute cited in the subpoena relates to civil immigration enforcement and the expedited removal of inadmissible arriving aliens A spokesman for ICE did not return a message seeking comment last week There is nothing on the face of the subpoena that suggests that this is related to a criminal analysis David Seligman whose nonprofit law firm Towards Justice also joined Moss suit revealed Monday Lawmakers also solicited for details Polis spokeswoman Wieman announced Monday that officers methodically considered the state s response in accordance with Colorado law When repeatedly questioned if Polis office had received any evidence or indication of a specific ICE analysis into child abuse Wieman pointed to the subpoena s reference to investigative exercises She declared that specifics of the inspection are not typically shared while the inspection is ongoing If there are people criminally exploiting the children the Governor wants to ensure they are held fully accountable to the law which could include prosecution and deportation if they are here illegally Wieman wrote Rep Lorena Garcia an Adams County Democrat who co-sponsored the bill expanding the state s rules around sharing information with ICE declared she sought Polis chief of staff and one of his attorneys about the subpoena last week She was narrated she explained that Polis office deduced there was an inspection When Garcia and other lawmakers petitioned for evidence of such an study they didn t receive any she announced What I took from that conversation was that they were making an assumption because ICE is making a request Garcia explained David Seligman executive director of Towards Justice a nonprofit law firm holds a subpoena in his hand as he speaks during a news conference at the City and County Building in Denver on June Photo by Helen H Richardson The Denver Post Related Articles Pentagon draws up rules on viable use of force by Marines deployed to LA protests ICE releases Honduran mother who was detained in Aurora for months after DoorDash delivery arrest Families in Colorado facing danger of return to Afghanistan Letters As Douglas County s home-rule voting process gets underway the battle is already red hot Here s what s at stake What to know about Trump s deployment of National Guard troops to LA immigration protests The question may become central to Polis defense against Moss lawsuit On Monday Moss lawyer Laura Wolf petitioned Denver District Judge A Bruce Jones to compel Polis office to provide evidence of the criminal inspection that Polis has revealed he is eager to help Jones declined to do so But if Polis or his office testifies about an inquiry without evidence supporting its existence Jones noted he would exclude that testimony Polis is being represented in Moss lawsuit by a private attorney not by the office of Attorney General Phil Weiser Polis spokesman Maruyama explained last week that Weiser s office had provided unspecified legal advice about the subpoena and was thus conflicted out of representing Polis A spokesman for Weiser who is at present defending the state s immigration laws against a Trump administration lawsuit declined to say what legal counsel the AG s office had provided Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter The Spot