Aurora ICE Processing Center — Adams County CO (GEO Group) · CO · 1,530 · GEO Group (since 1986)

Overview

The Aurora ICE Processing Center at 3130 Oakland Street in Aurora, CO (physically in Adams County) is a 1,530-bed GEO Group facility operational since 1986. It is Colorado’s primary formal ICE detention facility. GEO announced a $70M expansion investment in December 2025, increasing capacity from 1,360 to 1,530 beds.

Conditions (March 2026 Report)

A coalition report based on 31 detainee interviews documented:

Malnutrition: One lunch calculated at 198 calories vs. the 500-calorie ICE minimum
Denied medical care: 17 of 28 detainees with pre-existing conditions reported never receiving or receiving inappropriate treatment
Extreme temperatures, physical and emotional abuse, forced labor
Two detainee escapes during a 2025 power outage sparked federal-local dispute

Supreme Court Ruling

In February 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously against GEO Group in a procedural challenge to a lawsuit alleging detainees were forced to work for little or no pay at the Aurora facility. The ruling allowed the forced labor case to proceed.

Aurora City Council

On January 12, 2026, after 3 hours of public comment, Aurora City Council passed a resolution 6-4 declaring opposition to “ICE overreach” and standing in solidarity with the Twin Cities after the Minneapolis ICE shooting. Mayor Pro Tem Alison Coombs called the facility a “stain” on Aurora (20% of 400,000+ residents are foreign-born).

On April 8, 2026, council delayed a vote on a revised MOU governing police response to emergencies at the ICE facility. On April 21, 2026, the council voted 6-3 to reject the police-ICE MOU outright, after a two-week delay and vocal public opposition citing the March conditions report. On May 18, 2026, the council advanced proposed city-code changes requiring all detention facilities to report health hazards to local government (initiated because GEO had not reported health issues to the city). The code change would require the city to request health/safety information from detention facilities monthly, require facilities to grant police and fire access for service calls and criminal investigations, and set a noncompliance penalty (additions by Councilmember Gianina Horton). Councilmembers Bergan, Hancock, and Lawson opposed it on cost grounds; City Attorney Pete Schulte cautioned it is unclear whether the city can legally enforce the rules against a federal contractor. An official vote was set for the June 1, 2026 regular meeting; as of June 2, 2026 the outcome was not yet reported in available sources (check next sweep).

State Inspection Authority (HB 26-1276, May 2026)

Colorado’s HB 26-1276 (Protect Safety of Individuals Who Are Immigrants) cleared the legislature on May 11, 2026 (Senate 23-12) and headed to Gov. Polis, who was expected to sign. The bill authorizes unannounced state inspections of immigration detention facilities — including Aurora — at least four times per year, reviewing food/water standards, confinement conditions, and detainee care. A facility that refuses inspection faces license revocation or civil penalty. The bill also bars state/local transit services (buses, trains, state-regulated airports) from knowingly transporting people for immigration detention (up to $50,000 civil penalty) and blocks facility access to non-public areas absent a federal warrant. This is the legislative response to GEO’s obstruction of the Adams County health probe. As of June 2, 2026 the official bill page still showed no “Governor Signed” action and coverage continued to call the signature “expected” — treat as pending until confirmed. A companion bill, SB 26-5 (state-court civil suits against immigration agents), is likewise awaiting Polis’s signature.

Federal Court Order on Warrantless Arrests (May 2026)

On May 12, 2026, U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson found ICE in Colorado noncompliant with his earlier injunction barring warrantless arrests without individualized flight-risk/undocumented-status determinations. He ordered ICE to develop a complaint training program within two weeks and train every Colorado officer authorized to make warrantless arrests within 45 days — untrained officers are barred from such arrests. ICE must also document warrantless arrests, turn over more records, and pay plaintiffs’ attorney fees. Most people detained at Aurora arrive via these arrests.

Federal Pressure on Expansion (2026)

Sens. Hickenlooper and Bennet and Rep. Pettersen demanded DHS abandon the planned Hudson (Big Horn) expansion. Sen. Bennet — running for governor — announced (May 27, 2026) a strategy to block new ICE facilities and bar existing prisons from being used for immigration detention, and introduced the KIDS, TRUST, and OPEN Acts (May 20, 2026) to rein in ICE/CBP/DHS.

Adams County Investigation

Adams County is investigating the facility after allegations of illness and neglect.

Detention Pipeline

Aurora ICE Processing Center — Adams County CO (GEO Group)