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Immigrant rights groups push Colorado AG Weiser for probes into violations of ICE collaboration law
Denver City Council member Serena Gonzales-Guttierrez speaks Thursday in front of the Colorado Court of Appeals in Denver. (Sara Wilson/Colorado Newsline)
Immigrant rights advocates in Colorado want Attorney General Phil Weiser to investigate any possible violations of the state’s law against information sharing with federal immigration officials.
The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition on Thursday delivered to a representative from Weiser’s office a petition with over 2,000 signatures calling for an investigation. Leaders said the move represents a demand for public accountability.
“We are not trying to be antagonistic with this action and this petition delivery,” CIRC Organizing Director Nayda Benitez said. “We’re open to working collaboratively with the attorney general’s office to ensure that Colorado state laws are being upheld, and that all Colorado families, regardless of their immigration status, feel safe being here.”
The petition specifically asks for Weiser’s office to ensure that local law enforcement and government agencies are educated on the state’s laws against sharing personal identifying information in immigration cases except when a request for that information is part of a criminal investigation.
Last month, a Denver judge blocked Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, from ordering a state employee to hand over information requested in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement subpoena. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment employee, Scott Moss, contended that the information requested — which immigration officials said was to ensure the welfare of unaccompanied immigrant children — ran afoul of state law because the request was not related to a specific criminal investigation and might be used for immigration enforcement.
Polis’ lawyers contended that his office wanted to cooperate with federal criminal investigations into child trafficking and exploitation.
During testimony in that case, CDLE Executive Director Joe Barela said the department had complied with at least one other ICE subpoena in March.
“Let’s be very clear: Gov. Jared Polis knew about these laws when he directed state workers to share information about undocumented children with ICE, because he signed both of those bills into law. Shame on you, Governor,” said Denver City Council member Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, who sponsored the initial information protection bill in 2021 as a state representative.
The petition also calls for an investigation into an incident in Mesa County earlier this summer when a Utah college student, Caroline Dias Goncalves, was arrested by ICE. Federal agents used information that a sheriff’s deputy shared in a Signal group chat to detain Goncalves after a traffic stop.
Weiser’s office announced on June 23 that it is investigating whether law enforcement followed state law in that interaction.
CIRC also denounced the use by law enforcement of Flock Safety security cameras around the state. The cameras photograph license plates to track vehicles. Local law enforcement mostly uses that information to find stolen vehicles.
An agent at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives searched Loveland’s Flock data on behalf of ICE six times in April, 9News reported.
Denver City Council voted not to renew its contract with the company earlier this year over concerns that the data could be fed to immigration officials. The cameras are still operational for the current contract period.
“Our immigrant communities are under threat while Flock is still being used across Colorado,” Gonzales-Gutierrez said. “Our city and our state must resist collaborating with ICE under the guise of public safety.”
Weiser spokesperson Lawrence Pacheco said the AG’s office will review the petition and its claims.
Editor’s note: This story first appeared on Colorado Newsline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com.
David O. Williams
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