AURORA — The GEO Group, which helps operate the Aurora ICE Processing Center, has filed a lawsuit arguing Colorado is "improperly asserting regulatory authority over immigration detention facilities."
At the center of the lawsuit is HB26-1276, a law signed by Gov. Jared Polis last week allowing unannounced health and safety inspections inside immigrant detention facilities every three months.
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The GEO Group wants the law declared "unconstitutional" and is asking the court to prevent the state from "enforcing it against GEO."
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who is running for governor and is named in the lawsuit, said he stands by the law, despite the lawsuit.
"It's very important that we have the authority, we have the ability as a state to do the type of public health inspections that we routinely do to all sorts of facilities, making sure that everyone housed there is safe," Weiser said.
Weiser pushed back on the company's claims that the facility operates outside state oversight.
"These are private facilities that are subject to legal oversight, they don't operate outside the law," Weiser said.
The lawsuit follows reports of medical concerns and illness outbreaks at the facility, highlighted in a report from advocacy groups. V Reeves, an organizer with HouseKeys Action Network Denver, helped create that report.
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"The report called out a lot of allegations about lack of proper medical care," Reeves said.
The Adams County Health Department later led an investigation into the facility. A report obtained by Denver7 detailed obstacles during that investigation, including blocked staff interviews, delayed patient access, and unreturned testing kits.
READ MORE: Health officials say Aurora ICE facility blocked staff interviews during probe
Denver7 reached out to the GEO Group on Thursday requesting an interview regarding the lawsuit but did not hear back by the time of publication.
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