DENVER — A federal judge heard arguments Friday over whether Colorado can force The GEO Group to allow health inspections at its Aurora ICE Processing Center, but did not issue a ruling from the bench.
The hearing before U.S. District Judge Daniel Domenico centered on GEO's request to permanently block a state law, HB26-1276, that grants state and county health officials new authority to inspect the facility.
Denver7's Veronica Acosta was there and has this report:
GEO sued in June, arguing the law is unconstitutional because it singles out the only federally contracted immigration detention facility in Colorado for regulations that apply nowhere else in the state.
Judge Domenico pushed back at points on the state and county's defense of the law. When attorneys for the state argued HB26-1276 does not discriminate against the federal government or its contractors, the judge disagreed.
"Sure it does," Domenico said, noting the law by its own terms applies only to facilities that carry out federal detention functions.
Attorneys for the state and Adams County argued GEO is not currently facing any real harm because the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has not yet written specific rules to enforce most of the law's requirements, a process they said typically takes three to six months and requires stakeholder engagement. They argued GEO lacks standing to challenge the law until that rulemaking happens.
GEO's attorneys rejected that argument, telling the court GEO should not have to wait to find out whether requirements apply to it, especially given a compliance reporting deadline written into the law for Jan. 15, 2027.
Attorneys for the state said three things change under HB26-1276: it increases the minimum frequency of CDPHE inspections, requires GEO to reimburse the state for the cost of those inspections, and creates a new enforcement mechanism allowing the Colorado Attorney General to bring civil action against GEO if it refuses facility access, backed by a penalty of up to $50,000 per refusal.
The hearing came as Adams County's ongoing investigation into a tuberculosis case at the facility remains unresolved.
READ MORE: Health officials demanded access to ICE facility weeks ago but haven't gotten in
Dr. Kelly Weidenbach, executive director of the Adams County Health Department, gave an update on that investigation following Friday's hearing.
"What still remains unresolved here is our ability to investigate a confirmed case of active tuberculosis that's been widely reported over the summer," Dr. Weidenbach said.
Weidenbach said the health department opened its investigation June 11 after being notified of a suspected tuberculosis case, and that Denver Health's tuberculosis program provided clinical guidance to GEO that same day. The case was laboratory-confirmed on June 22, she said.
Weidenbach said the department's requests have been routine: medical records, an interview with the patient, access to areas of the facility where the person was housed, and information about others who may have been exposed. When voluntary cooperation did not produce that information, the department issued a public health order on June 25 to compel compliance, she said. CDPHE issued its own written request for the same information on July 14.
READ MORE: CDPHE sets Friday deadline to allow TB investigation at Aurora ICE facility
Weidenbach told Denver7 the facility and ICE stopped communicating with the department entirely at the end of June.
"I think what makes this case different from previous communicable disease investigations is just the fact that the facility has gone completely quiet and is not communicating whatsoever, which is different than previous situations that we've been in," Dr. Weidenbach said.
Dr. Weidenbach said the department has not historically been prevented from entering the facility to conduct inspections, including of its kitchen and food service areas, and said the department currently has no other active health investigations open at the facility.
Denver7 asked Dr. Weidenbach and the department when the last time they conducted an inspection at the Aurora ICE Processing Center was. A spokesperson provided the following information.
"The last routine inspection of the facility was on September 25, 2025. There was another inspection on January 7, 2026, linked to a complaint."
Based on the incubation period for tuberculosis, Dr. Weidenbach said the department does not believe the patient contracted the infection inside the facility. She said the department has the same information other officials have received from ICE: that the patient was treated and deported. She said the department has no way to independently verify that.
"At this time, we don't know where that individual is," Dr. Weidenbach said.
Dr. Weidenbach said the department continues to evaluate its enforcement options alongside its legal counsel and CDPHE while the litigation plays out.
"I do believe that we've had those concerns that there is a desire to avoid complying with existing law," Dr. Weidenbach said, referring to public health authority she said predates HB26-1276.
Denver7 reached out to the GEO Group for a statement after Friday's hearing but didn't hear back by the time of publication.
Judge Domenico did not indicate when he plans to rule.
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