AURORA, Colo. — It has been nearly three weeks since the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment sent a letter to the GEO Group demanding access to its Aurora ICE Processing Center to investigate a tuberculosis case, but state and county health officials still have not been let inside.
READ MORE: CDPHE sets Friday deadline to allow TB investigation at Aurora ICE facility
The Adams County Health Department said the investigation remains open and incomplete.
"To date, ACHD has not received the information needed to continue the investigation, nor have we been granted access to the facility," a spokesperson for the department said in a statement Thursday. "The investigation remains open."
When asked whether the GEO Group planned to allow public health officials into the facility, the company referred questions to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
ICE said in a statement that all of its detention facilities "operate in strict accordance with all applicable federal detention standards for safety, sanitation, and humane treatment in accordance with national detention standards." The agency said there are no confirmed active tuberculosis cases at the Aurora facility as of Thursday. ICE said one detainee tested positive for tuberculosis on June 25, and that person was treated, cleared and removed from the country.
ICE said the facility has complied with all federal CDC guidelines and Colorado law on communicable disease. The agency said any detainee confirmed to have tuberculosis would be placed in medical isolation, including a negative-pressure room when available, to prevent transmission.
The lack of access is drawing renewed criticism from immigrant rights activists, who say the continued stalemate leaves the public in the dark.
Miriam Ordóñez Rodriguez, coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee, said the situation has left advocates disturbed and frustrated.
"Private companies are not allowing CDPHE or public health officials to go in, and we are devastated," Ordóñez Rodriguez said.
Jeanette Vizguerra, an activist who spent more than nine months inside the Aurora ICE Processing Center, said she is demanding answers from Adams County health officials.
"I need transparency. I need honesty," Vizguerra said
"This is the real problem," she added. "Real problem."
The pressure is not limited to activists. Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman raised the possibility of legal action during a city study session this week.
"I think Adams County and the state of Colorado may be prepared to go to court to force them to comply," Coffman said.
Aurora City Attorney Peter Schulte said during the same study session that basic questions about conditions inside the facility remain unanswered.
"We don't really know what is going on in the GEO facility," Schulte said.
The threat of legal action adds a new dimension to a monthslong standoff between state and local health authorities and the private companies operating the facility. Advocates like Ordóñez Rodriguez and Vizguerra say they will keep pressing officials to act regardless of how the dispute is resolved.
ICE said in its statement that it is "committed to transparency and accountability" and regularly conducts inspections of its facilities. The agency said detainees receive medical, dental and mental health screenings within 12 hours of arriving in ICE custody, along with a full health assessment within 14 days. ICE said all detainees receive three meals a day, clean water, clothing, bedding and access to phones to contact family members and lawyers.
Neither CDPHE nor the Adams County Health Department has said what steps, if any, they plan to take next to gain access to the facility.
Denver7 reached out to CDPHE, a spokesperson provided the following statement:
We have received information indicating that the individual was isolated, that contact tracing and testing were conducted, and that the individual later left the facility with medication and follow-up arrangements in place. We have also been told that the facility is following established tuberculosis protocols developed with Adams County Public Health and Denver Health. We have received no information indicating additional active cases.That information, if true, is reassuring, but it remains summary-level, though we are not able to independently verify the information. Public health officials are continuing to ask to verify that everyone potentially exposed was appropriately identified, tested, and treated.Adams County’s existing public health order already compels the facility to provide access and information under longstanding public health law. We continue to evaluate whether additional state action, including a state public health order, would meaningfully improve access or simply duplicate requirements already in place. We are also continuing to work with Adams County Public Health, the Governor’s Office, and federal officials to obtain the remaining information and restore the regular coordination that previously occurred at the facility.GEO has previously cooperated with communicable disease investigations. Whether this situation continues indefinitely depends on whether GEO chooses to continue denying access.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.