On June 9, following The Lever’s initial reporting on the matter, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis agreed to postpone turning over the immigration information in question until June 23, while the lawsuit described below plays out in state court.

A new lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of using a secret subpoena to force Colorado officials to ignore state laws and hand over private financial information of residents sponsoring unaccompanied immigrant children. The state’s Democratic Governor, Jared Polis, is demanding that those state officials comply, allegedly under threat of termination, according to court documents reviewed by The Lever. 

The previously undisclosed Trump administration subpoena was detailed in an explosive new whistleblower lawsuit filed in state court on Thursday. The alleged subpoena targeting information protected by state privacy laws represents a significant escalation of the Trump administration’s nationwide immigration crackdown — and the lawsuit’s allegations also prompt new questions about Democrats’ cooperation.