Lawsuit alleges Colorado governor ordered state employees to violate state law, share info with ICE
DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) – A top Colorado labor official is suing Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, accusing him of ordering state workers to violate Colorado law by handing over personal data about sponsors of undocumented children to federal immigration agents.
Scott Moss, the director of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s (CDLE) Division of Labor Standards and Statistics, filed the lawsuit in Denver District Court on Wednesday.
Moss alleges that just a week after Polis signed a 2025 law expanding the state's ban on sharing immigrants' personally identifying information, or PII, with federal immigration enforcement, the governor ordered state employees to hand over PII of dozens of individuals to ICE agents in response to an administrative subpoena – not one issued by a court.
Moss claims this directive goes against state laws – laws that Polis himself signed.
"The Polis directive to collaborate with ICE is illegal," the complaint reads in part. "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."
The April 24 ICE subpoena was for civil, not criminal, proceedings. It requested information on 35 sponsors of unaccompanied immigrant minors – or children under the age of 18 in the U.S. without legal status or a guardian.
According to the lawsuit, the portion of the subpoena detailing the requests said the subpoena was for "investigative activities to locate unaccompanied alien children" and to "ensure that the children are being properly cared for." The suit claims the subpoena requested a broad range of personal data on the sponsors, including employment records, wage details and contact information.
According to the complaint, the Polis administration initially decided not to share the information – but weeks later, Polis "personally decided" to produce the PII the subpoena requested.
Moss says he repeatedly raised concerns internally about the legality of complying with the ICE subpoena, but was ultimately told to follow the governor’s directive.
Now, Moss has filed the lawsuit as a "last resort," with the aim to secure an immediate injunction to prevent Polis from sharing the personal information with federal immigration agents.
A spokesperson for Governor Polis’ office shared the following statement with our Denver news partners at 9NEWS on Thursday:
"Child exploitation has no place in Colorado, and we are not a sanctuary state. And we are committed to partnering on criminal investigations with local and federal partners, including to protect against human trafficking and child exploitation. Helping federal law enforcement partners locate and, if necessary, rescue children being abused and trafficked is not only in line with the law but also a moral imperative. We expect the courts will agree. We are committed to protecting Personal Identifying Information (PII) with regard to purely civil matters.
It is important to produce records in accordance with criminal investigations to ensure the safety of Coloradans and, most importantly, to protect and ensure the safety of children. Attempts to delay or block this information could prolong criminal exploitation and abuse of children, and we are eager to assist. We would comply unless a court deems otherwise.
That said, it is critical that if the federal government seeks to use subpoenas to compel the release of information in connection with criminal investigations, be transparent about its investigations to the extent possible and that it not misuse that power."
You can read the full criminal complaint below.
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