Crow, immigration activists say GEO ICE prison investigation could explain death of inmate

AURORA | The results of a federal investigation into the death of a Nicaraguan man in Aurora’s GEO immigration detention center are expected to be released later this month.

Nelson Calero-Mendoza, 39, died in October after collapsing in the facility and being taken to the hospital. An autopsy and a death report released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement said that he died of a pulmonary embolism after sustaining a series of injuries to his right leg while in the facility that received limited medical treatment.

A federal inquiry into his death from ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility is ongoing. The incident has prompted calls for more answers and renewed scrutiny of the facility, which has repeatedly drawn criticism for its treatment of inmates.

At a tour of Aurora nonprofit Casa de Paz Monday morning, Democratic Aurora Congressperson Jason Crow said GEO has not been transparent in providing information about Calero-Mendoza’s death and reiterated his belief that for-profit immigration detention centers should be shut down.

“We’ve never had the level of transparency and engagement that you would expect, frankly, because these for-profit facilities have perverse incentives so they’re never going to be fully transparent,” he said.

Crow joined Colorado’s senators in calling for an independent investigation into Calero-Mendoza’s death.

“When they’re done with the investigation, obviously we’ll expect full information on the results of that,” he said Monday.

Casa de Paz provides a place to stay for people being released from the GEO facility, many of whom have very little resources.

“People are released from these facilities often times with no safety net, right on the streets, no baggage, no personal belongings — nothing,” Crow said. “It’s bad for them, and it’s bad for the community.”

The organization, which owns a house in Aurora near the detention center, provides people with food, shelter, telephone and computer access and transportation to help them get to their final destination. The average stay is one and a half days, and the majority of people ultimately travel out of state to reach family or friends.

Executive director Andrea Loya said the organization has “a lot of concerns” about how people are treated in the GEO facility based on what they’ve been told from people they serve.

Some people have told her that they would rather be in a regular prison than the immigration detention center because the conditions are better. Many people complain about the conditions in GEO, she said, but ultimately are shocked that this is the way people trying to seek asylum are treated.

“People did not realize that the U.S. would punish them for trying to seek a better life,” Loya said.