Federal judge hears arguments over Colorado law increasing immigration facility oversight

On Friday afternoon, a federal judge heard arguments on whether a new Colorado law that would increase oversight of the ICE Detention Facility in Aurora should stand.

The facility is run by the private prison company GEO Group, which argues that the law is unconstitutional and that the state has gone too far. Meanwhile, state officials say the law is simply protecting public health.

GEO attorney Fred Yarger argued that Colorado can't regulate the federal government directly, so it's trying to regulate ICE by targeting GEO. He claimed the law unfairly singles out GEO with mandatory inspections and possible penalties of up to $50,000 if the company refuses access.

State attorneys pushed back, saying the law doesn't regulate immigration enforcement, but regulates health and safety.

HB 26-1276 states that any facility that houses or detains non-citizens for civil immigration must submit to annual inspections and examinations. Additional unannounced inspections and examinations will also be made at least once every three months, the cost of which would be covered by the facility. Those inspections include food safety and drinking water quality standards, confinement conditions, and the standards of care provided to detainees. It also requires facilities to cooperate with investigations related to epidemics or communicable diseases.

Dr. Kelly Weidenback, the executive director of the Adams County Health Department said, "We've had those concerns that there is a desire to avoid complying with existing law, preexisting law, but we know that they are not in compliance with those laws at this moment."

Earlier this month, the Adams County Health Department revealed that there was a laboratory-confirmed case of tuberculosis involving a detainee at the Aurora facility.

"We believe the person to have been infected with tuberculosis before they entered the facility," said Weidenback. "So, in that case, we are concerned about exposures that other people may have had to this individual before this person was brought into the detention facility."

In a statement in June, ICE confirmed that they had one case of tuberculosis on June 25 and that the detainee was "treated, cleared, and removed from the country." They added that there weren't any further active cases at the facility.

Health officials said that they sought access to the facility to conduct an investigation, but both GEO and ICE have stopped communicating since late June.

Outside the courthouse, immigration advocates expressed frustrations after Friday's hearing.

"I'm very angry. They don't have regulation, they don't have inspections," said Jeanette Vizguerra, who was held in ICE custody for nine months.

"Reading between the lines, what I heard from Mr. Yarger was a desire to avoid accountability," another advocate said.

The judge did not make a ruling on Friday, but will issue a written order in the coming weeks.