Aurora city lawmakers are right to push for greater oversight of the GEO Group’s ICE immigration detention center, and they shouldn’t be cowed by critics who dismiss the effort as “performative.”
The real performance has been the years-long pretense by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and GEO Group that the Aurora detention facility operates safely, humanely and transparently.
The evidence and records are clear. It does not.
The GEO detention center in Aurora has long been dogged by allegations of documented abuse, neglect, medical indifference and dangerous conditions. Reports from immigrant advocates, members of congress, health officials and former detainees have painted a grim picture for years. Detainees have described inadequate food, poor sanitation, denial of medical treatment and retaliation against those who complain. Multiple people held there have died following allegations of negligent or cruel treatment.
All this isn’t conjecture or “political theater” as conservative critics on the city council dais insist. It is a matter of well-documented public concern, and it‘s right here in Aurora.
Last week during a city council meeting, Aurora lawmakers proposed establishing a basic level of accountability by requiring council review of contracts involving detention and immigration agencies and by creating a process for regular inspections of detention facilities inside the city.
There’s only one, and it’s the GEO ICE center.
Critics of the proposal argue that Aurora lacks authority over any federal facility. Technically, that may be true — in some respects. But cities routinely exercise oversight over private facilities operating within their boundaries, especially facilities that affect public health and safety. The GEO center is not some untouchable diplomatic compound. It is a privately operated jail planted in an Aurora neighborhood.
If any other private business in Aurora repeatedly faced allegations of unsafe conditions, obstructed health investigations or endangered the lives of people inside its walls, city officials would hardly shrug their shoulders.
If a nursing home denied access to investigators during a disease outbreak, the city and county would intervene immediately. If a hotel or warehouse ignored fire safety standards, city fire inspectors would arrive without hesitation. If a group home operated by a local contractor had a history of deaths and medical complaints, there would be relentless demands for accountability.
Florida-owned GEO Group, which operates the jail for ICE, should hardly receive special treatment.
They’ve been enjoying special status only because of politics and fear.
Under the Trump administration, Americans have been repeatedly asked to trust immigration officials and federal agencies despite a record of misinformation, exaggeration and outright deception surrounding immigration policy. The administration has routinely distorted crime statistics involving immigrants, mischaracterized deportation operations and demonized asylum seekers for political gain.
This administration has zero credibility.
The federal government’s documented actions and misdeeds make the need for scrutiny at the jail only more critical.
This year, Adams County health officials reported that GEO staff delayed and denied access to investigators attempting to examine a potential flu outbreak at the facility, the Sentinel reported. Another recent report alleged detainees were not receiving adequate food or medical care.
Disease outbreaks inside detention centers do not stay neatly contained there. Fire hazards inside detention facilities threaten employees, emergency responders and surrounding neighborhoods. Negligent medical care creates humanitarian crises that taxpayers inevitably will probably absorb.
Arguing that such inspection efforts might provoke lawsuits or cost taxpayer money ignores the point. Public oversight is not free. Neither are fire departments, building inspectors or health agencies. Cities spend money enforcing standards because failing to enforce them costs far more in human suffering and public danger.
The city should push aggressively for inspection access in coordination with Adams County health officials, fire inspectors and members of Colorado’s congressional delegation.
If GEO or federal officials refuse entry, that refusal itself becomes valuable public information. Americans deserve to know whether a private prison contractor operating in their city welcomes oversight or undermines it.
