Colorado Gov. Jared Polis still pushing for releasing immigration records to ICE

Months after a Denver judge blocked the Polis administration from disclosing documents to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the governor is still pursuing the release of the sensitive records.

Gov. Jared Polis' actions, first reported Wednesday by the Denver Post, may violate state laws prohibiting cooperation with ICE on most immigration matters, and if the documents were released, they could lead to more deportations.

A federal immigration subpoena is seeking employment records for 10 businesses whose employees sponsored unaccompanied immigrant children, but state legislation that Polis signed in 2021 limits cooperation to criminal matters.

A Denver judge ruled in April that administration staffers could not release the records.

Now Polis is using private legal counsel to seek the case's dismissal and allow the release of a limited batch of records to ICE, court documents show.

The move is generating more controversy and blowback for the governor, who defended his actions when Axios Denver asked about the issue Wednesday.

In response, Polis continued to suggest the subpoenas are connected to a criminal matter even though a judge rejected that premise.

The private attorneys working with Polis billed the state $104,000, the Post reported.