Colorado Gov. Jared Polis directed state employees to turn over information on sponsors of undocumented children to federal immigration authorities, despite protests that the order violated state laws limiting cooperation, according to a lawsuit filed by a senior official.
Scott Moss, a director within the state Department of Labor and Employment, alleged in the suit filed Wednesday evening that Polis personally decided to comply with an administrative subpoena from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. The subpoena was part of “investigative activities to locate unaccompanied alien children” and to ensure they were being cared for, according to the lawsuit.
But Moss, in a four-page memo protesting the legality of the request, alleged that the subpoena “is for purposes of finding minors to deport.”
Moss is now asking a Denver District Court judge to immediately block Polis’ order to furnish the information, which Moss was directed to complete by the end of the day Friday. In the suit, Moss’ attorneys allege that Moss and other employees are being asked to choose between illegally turning over information or risking termination for refusing Polis’ directive.
The subpoena, issued by ICE to the state in April and not signed by a judge, requested employment and family records for the sponsors of undocumented children separated from their parents, according to the lawsuit. Sponsors are typically family members, and the information requested would include birth...
The House Prosecution panel on Friday countered Vice President Sara Duterte’s statements in her answer ad cautelam (for caution), saying that she made “several misleading and false material statem...