Gov. Jared Polis has moved to appeal a Denver court’s order that prohibited him from telling state employees to comply with a federal immigration subpoena — his latest attempt to turn over information about the sponsors of undocumented children.
Polis’ attorneys filed the notice with the Colorado Court of Appeals last week, roughly six weeks after a district court judge again told Polis that complying with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement subpoena would likely violate a state law that prevents information-sharing with ICE outside of criminal investigations.
The filing indicates that Polis will try to overturn that order and argue that ICE’s claims in the subpoena — that it wants information about the sponsors as part of a criminal investigation — are sufficient to sidestep state law and turn over personal information to the agency.
The notice is the first step in filing a formal appeal. In a statement Monday night, Polis spokeswoman Ally Sullivan said that the subpoena was related to a criminal investigation and that Polis “has been clear” that the state would cooperate with federal authorities on criminal probes. Asked if the state had done anything to check on the sponsors, she said the federal government has not requested help from state officials.
The filing comes nearly 12 months after Polis was first sued by Scott Moss, a now-former state employee who sought to block the governor from turning over personal information about the sponsors.
In late June 2025, Denver District Court Judge A. Bruce Jones told Polis that complying with the request would likely be illegal. Polis had claimed, without evidence, that the subpoena was part of a criminal investigation.
As the lawsuit dragged into 2026, the state Department of Labor and Employment then received another ICE subpoena seeking the same information as the first, prompting Moss to request a new order. In the new subpoena, ICE wrote that it wanted the sponsors’ addresses and employment details as part of an ongoing criminal case.
Moss argued that there was no criminal investigation and that ICE had simply adjusted its language to avoid another court order.
In April, Jones agreed, ruling that it was reasonable to assume ICE’s latest subpoena was just a new version of the first one, updated with a “talismanic phrase” referencing a criminal investigation to appease state law. He prohibited Polis from directing state labor officials to comply with the latest subpoena.
The state has hired two outside law firms to represent Polis and the labor department in the lawsuit. As of Monday, the state has spent more than $215,000 to defend the governor and attempt to comply with the subpoenas, according to figures obtained from the attorney general’s office in response to a records request.
