Two Colorado advocacy groups filed suit Monday to halt work on a planned Colorado ICE facility in Hudson, alleging the Department of Homeland Security moved forward without the environmental review required by federal law.
The complaint, brought by GreenLatinos and the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition in federal court in Denver, contends Immigration and Customs Enforcement failed to complete any analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act for the proposed Big Horn Detention Facility. The center would house up to 1,250 people on land that once held a state prison in rural Hudson, about 30 miles northeast of Denver.
Colorado ICE facility environmental review challenged
The groups argue NEPA requires the government to evaluate potential effects tied to infectious disease risks, air pollution and water use before advancing the project. They say the proposed population would nearly double the town’s current size and that the lack of an assessment leaves residents, local leaders and Colorado’s congressional delegation without critical information or a chance to weigh in.
“By illegally failing to conduct a NEPA analysis, ICE has denied itself, members of the public and Colorado elected officials … critical information,” the complaint states.
Colorado’s only existing immigration detention center, the Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora, is operated by GEO Group. GEO is also expected to run the Hudson site. Federal officials signed an initial six-month, 39 million dollar contract with GEO in December to manage the Hudson facility, and in July the company announced a five-year ICE agreement it estimates will generate 85 million dollars annually.
In their filing, the groups question GEO’s capacity to manage infectious diseases, citing a reported tuberculosis outbreak at the Aurora facility earlier this year. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser sued the company in August to obtain health records needed for the state’s investigation. GEO sued the state in June and last month won a partial injunction limiting new expansions of Colorado’s authority to inspect the Aurora center.
The plaintiffs also warn of added air pollution in a Front Range region already under heightened Environmental Protection Agency restrictions as Colorado works to bring air quality into compliance with federal standards. One coalition member, age 73, said she is concerned about increased pollution and potential impacts to nearby protected areas such as the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, where she birds.
Separate from Monday’s filing, several residents sued the Hudson Town Council in July in an effort to block construction. In the new case, the plaintiffs cite NEPA and the Administrative Procedure Act and ask the court to order an injunction stopping construction until DHS completes the required environmental assessment.
The groups are represented by Boulder attorney Robert Ukeiley, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Department of Homeland Security also did not immediately comment.
Colorado’s only existing immigration detention center, the Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora, is operated by GEO Group. GEO is also expected to run the Hudson site. Federal officials signed an initial six-month, 39 million dollar contract with GEO in December to manage the Hudson facility, and in July the company announced a five-year ICE agreement it estimates will generate 85 million dollars annually.
For broader context on conditions in immigration custody, see reporting on transgender immigrants in ICE detention.
