Denver, CO: Towards Justice, a nonprofit law firm that advances economic justice for working people, formally joined a lawsuit filed by whistleblower and Colorado Department of Labor and Employment official Scott Moss against Governor Jared Polis. Colorado’s public employee union Colorado WINS and the Colorado AFL-CIO have also announced their intention to join the lawsuit, which seeks to block the Governor from unlawfully complying with a federal  immigration subpoena to the CDLE seeking sensitive and personal information about individuals who may have filed employment complaints with the state.

The subpoena in question, issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is a civil administrative subpoena—not a criminal subpoena—that was not issued or approved by any court. Nevertheless, the Governor allegedly directed compliance with the subpoena even though Colorado law prohibits state employees from coordinating with ICE immigration efforts under most circumstances.

“In Colorado, we have promised working people—many of them immigrants—that they can report abuse without fear that their information will be handed over to ICE,” said David Seligman, Executive Director of Towards Justice. “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.”

Seligman added: “Let’s be clear—this isn’t about protecting public safety. It’s about protecting the corporate lawbreakers who put Donald Trump in office and want to continue exploiting workers without consequence.”

“Colorado shouldn’t need a court order to do the right thing,” Seligman said. “But if that’s what it takes, then we’ll ask the court to enforce the law. Still, the time is always right to do the right thing. And Governor Polis should choose to do the right thing now—without waiting for a judge to force his hand.”

Towards Justice is joining the case to protect the integrity of Colorado’s labor enforcement infrastructure and to reaffirm the state’s commitment to keeping labor enforcement independent from federal immigration enforcement.

“Workers deserve to come forward without fear. Our labor laws are only as strong as our commitment to enforce them equally, regardless of a worker’s immigration status,” said Seligman. “We are proud to stand alongside whistleblower Scott Moss in demanding that Colorado follow its own laws.”

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