{"id":2095,"date":"2026-06-09T20:32:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T20:32:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2095"},"modified":"2026-06-09T20:32:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T20:32:59","slug":"geo-group-challenges-colorados-new-immigration-detention-center-inspection-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2095","title":{"rendered":"GEO Group challenges Colorado\u2019s new immigration detention center inspection law"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><p><em>\u00a0This story was first published at Colorado Newsline.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>DENVER<\/strong> | The private company that operates the sole immigration detention center in Colorado sued state officials Monday over a new law that requires frequent health and safety inspections at the site.<\/p>\n<p>The GEO Group, which operates the 1,530-bed federal detention center in Aurora, filed the lawsuit in Denver-based federal court on Monday against Attorney General Phil Weiser, two officials with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and Kerry Weidenback, the executive director of the Adams County Health Department. The company claims that the new law,\u00a0House Bill 26-1276, \u201cimposes direct burdens and requirements on facilities used in immigration operations\u201d and runs against federal authority.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThe state claims the authority to empower state and local officials to directly regulate\u2014and impose civil penalties on\u2014facilities used by the United States Government to securely detain noncitizens who are subject to removal from the country. Thus, the state claims the authority to exercise state regulatory power over an area that is exclusively the province of the United States Government. It cannot do so under the Constitution,\u201d the lawsuit says.<\/p>\n<p>Gov. Jared Polis signed the law last week. It was one of the only immigration-related bills to make it through the legislative process this year, after a bill to regulate officer behavior died in committee and Polis\u00a0vetoed a measure\u00a0to allow people to sue officers over alleged constitutional violations. The law requires CDPHE to inspect the Aurora facility at least every three months to ensure compliance with food, water and medical safety standards. It allows a $50,000 penalty if GEO denies state officials access.<\/p>\n<p>Though the facility in Aurora is currently the only immigration detention center in Colorado, federal officials have eyed a dormant prison in\u00a0Hudson for a new site. GEO has a contract for that new operation.<\/p>\n<p>In the lawsuit, GEO lays out the\u00a0\u00a0it must comply with to maintain its contract with the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and it argues that the standards outlined in the law \u201ccreate obstacles to Congress\u2019 purpose of creating a uniform federal framework for the detention of aliens pending removal.\u201d Additionally, the company alleges that the frequent and potentially unexpected inspections will increase the cost and administrative burden of running the facility.<\/p>\n<p>The company is asking the court to declare the sections of the law related to detention facilities in violation of the contracts and supremacy clauses and prevent the state from enforcing it.<\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers pursued HB-1276 following\u00a0years of complaints\u00a0around the facility\u2019s conditions, including a\u00a0report this year\u00a0that details personal stories about poor nutrition and medical delays.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement, Weiser said his office is committed to defending the law.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are disturbing reports about unhealthy living conditions at for-profit detention camps like the GEO facility in Aurora,\u201d Weiser said. \u201cMeeting basic health and safety requirements and being transparent about facility conditions are necessary for the humane treatment of immigrants who are going through civil immigration proceedings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2090\">Broken speaker? Finicky zipper? Anticonsumerist Repair Cafes urge you to fix it instead of pitch it<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2092\">How to grill vegetables and toss them in Isaac Toups\u2019 bacon vinaigrette<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2094\">What to Stream: \u2018Michael,\u2019 Olivia Rodrigo and Keith Urban albums and Bonnaroo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0This story was first published at Colorado Newsline. DENVER | The private company that operates the sole immigration detention center in Colorado sued state officials Monday over a new law that requires frequent health and safety inspections at the site. The GEO Group, which operates the 1,530-bed federal detention center in Aurora, filed the lawsuit [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[3426,374,116,396],"class_list":["post-2095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro","tag-aurora-facility","tag-geo-group","tag-gov-jared-polis","tag-house-bill-26-1276"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>GEO Group challenges Colorado\u2019s new immigration detention center inspection law - Denver Moving Chronicle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2095\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"GEO Group challenges Colorado\u2019s new immigration detention center inspection law - Denver Moving Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0This story was first published at Colorado Newsline. DENVER | The private company that operates the sole immigration detention center in Colorado sued state officials Monday over a new law that requires frequent health and safety inspections at the site. The GEO Group, which operates the 1,530-bed federal detention center in Aurora, filed the lawsuit [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2095\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Denver Moving Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-09T20:32:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=2095#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=2095\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/860d8c9be7e4969f72ed251197548d9b\"},\"headline\":\"GEO Group challenges Colorado\u2019s new immigration detention center inspection law\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-09T20:32:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=2095\"},\"wordCount\":559,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=2095#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/denvermovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/457bc7b8fc99bebdb6d8d827a107f08e-6.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Aurora facility\",\"geo group\",\"Gov. 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People once held in a privately run Colorado immigration detention center are challenging the system used to keep it clean and maintained, arguing it borders on slavery. They have won the right to sue GEO Group on behalf of an estimated 60,000 people held at its detention center near Denver over a decade. 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