A Denver judge will decide whether to issue a preliminary injunction regarding an administrative subpoena from federal immigration authorities after a state employee filed a lawsuit against Gov. Jared Polis, citing laws that prohibit cooperation with federal authorities.

On April 24, the Department of Homeland Security Investigations and ICE issued a subpoena to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, demanding personal information on 35 adults between the ages of 20 and 45, seeking home addresses, emails, and phone numbers, as well as other information.

The subpoena claimed it needed that information to determine if “unaccompanied alien children” in the custody of those individuals to decide whether they were safe and not being used for human trafficking or other forms of exploitation.

Scott Moss, director of the Division of Labor Standards and Statistics, and after several conversations with his boss, Joe Barela, the department’s executive director, refused to comply, citing a 2019 rule and legislation passed by the General Assembly and signed into law in 2021 and 2025 by the governor.

Moss sued Polis to block compliance with the federal subpoena.

The two state laws prohibit state and local government employees, including law enforcement, from cooperating with federal immigration authorities, such as by providing personally identifiable information. The laws carve out exceptions for criminal investigation or other proceedings authorized by judicial process, such as a court order.

Moss’ division handles thousands of wage and hour theft complaints annually. In that capacity, the division has worked for the past six years to build trust with the immigrant worker community, Moss said during Tuesday’s hearing. Complaints from immigrant workers have doubled at that time, and the division has also doubled its bilingual staff, Moss said.

Moss said his division made it known in the immigrant advocacy community that it would not cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

Moss, an attorney who has worked on immigration cases before joining the Colorado agency, said initially, the governor agreed not to comply with the subpoena. The federal agency had set a May 26 deadline for the state to provide the records.

Then, on May 27, Barela told him the governor changed his mind, stating that Polis was concerned he would be accused of not helping ICE if there were children at risk, Moss said. 

Moss said he was never informed about any evidence related to child exploitation. In addition, he pointed out that a box on the subpoena labeled “child exploitation,” which would identify the subpoena as being related to an investigation of child exploitation or child pornography, was not checked. He said he believed the purpose of the subpoena was to find the children and deport them.

In his testimony Monday, as reported by Colorado Newsline, Barela said he was not aware of any specific criminal investigation tied to the information sought by the ICE subpoena or evidence of children in danger.

“I don’t think there was evidence,” he said. “I think that if there possibly could be a chance that these sponsors had children in their care that weren’t accounted for or could possibly be exploited or involved in trafficking, that we didn’t want to prevent an investigation from finding that out.”

The subpoena, according to Moss’ original complaint, “does not claim to be served for the purpose of assisting in an ongoing criminal investigation. Indeed, it states that its purpose is to identify the sponsors of UACs and to ensure that the UACs are being properly cared for,” a type of child welfare check and that does not appear to be in connection with an ongoing criminal investigation.

Polis is being represented by private attorneys from Recht Kornfeld, including Christopher Beall and Thomas “Trey” Rogers.

On Monday, Denver District Court Judge A. Bruce Jones questioned Rogers on whether the subpoena was related to a criminal investigation.

“Am I going to believe you or my own lying eyes when I read that it doesn’t say it’s for the purpose of a criminal investigation? This is posited as a welfare check,” Jones said.

Moss said he protested when informed of the governor’s change of heart. He said complying with the subpoena could put him and his staff at risk. He added he fears his job, and potentially the jobs of other members of his division, are at risk. Complying with the subpoena also subjects him and his staff to penalties outlined in the two laws, which carry a fine of $50,000 per incident.

The governor’s response to the lawsuit claims Moss doesn’t have standing and has yet to suffer any “injury” related to the subpoena. It also pointed out that Barela could order staff to produce the records. Moss countered on Tuesday that he is the “appointing authority” for the division staff. At the same time, Barela is the appointing authority for the state agency’s executive team.

Defendant’s Response.pdf

When questioned whether the Attorney General’s office agreed, Moss replied that the AG’s office was not part of any consensus to cooperate.

A spokesman for Attorney General Phil Weiser confirmed that, referring to a meeting involving Moss, Barela, members of the governor’s office and the attorney general’s staff, in which they discussed whether to comply with the subpoena.

“If there was any consensus in the meeting described, the Colorado Department of Law wasn’t part of it,” AG spokesman Lawrence Pacheco said Tuesday.

That conflicted with Barela’s testimony on Monday, in which he said the “consensus following that meeting was that they would not be in violation of the 2021 state law if they handed over the requested information.”

Despite his objections, Barela directed his staff to search, although some staff members expressed reservations, citing both legal and moral concerns.

To date, the information has not been provided to ICE, with the lawsuit pending.

Moss will be cross-examined on Wednesday afternoon by Polis’ attorneys.