Crow, Bennet Lead Colorado Democrats Calling on GEO to Comply with Public Health Orders
AURORA — Congressman Jason Crow (D-CO) and Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), joined by all Democrats in the Colorado Congressional delegation, are calling on the GEO Group to comply with public health orders issued by the Adams County Health Department (ACHD) and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) related to an active tuberculosis case at the ICE detention facility in Aurora.
GEO failed to comply with CDPHE’s August 17th deadline asking them to hand over information related to a tuberculosis case confirmed at the facility in June. GEO has also failed to comply with the Adams County order that was issued on June 25th, raising concerns that state and local public health officials have been unable to investigate potential exposures and ensure the health and well-being of Coloradans.
In their letter, Crow and lawmakers express concern that the GEO Group is “refusing to cooperate” with ACHD and CDPHE, preventing officials from independently verifying “that everyone potentially exposed [to tuberculosis] was appropriately identified, tested, evaluated, and connected with necessary treatment or follow-up.”
“Public health officials need full transparency–not summary statements–to investigate because this threatens the safety of detained individuals, facility staff, and our surrounding community,” Crow and his colleagues write. “We demand the GEO Group comply with the PHOs issued by ACHD and CDPHE and encourage the resumption of cooperation with state and local officials so experts can address any public health risk at the facility in a timely manner. It is only by acting in concert, through rigorous and continuous oversight at the federal, state, and local level, that we can protect the health and well-being of detainees, facility personnel, and the broader community.”
Congressman Crow and his congressional office have conducted more than 100 oversight visits to the Aurora detention facility since being sworn into office in 2019. In their most recent visit on August 14, staff at the facility said there were no current active cases of tuberculosis. During that visit, Crow’s staff noted that eight people were being monitored in the medical section, but ICE and GEO would not elaborate on why.
Congressman Crow has led efforts to promote transparency and oversight of federal immigration detention centers. He previously introduced bipartisan legislation guaranteeing Members of Congress the right to conduct unannounced, in-person oversight visits of ICE detention facilities. He has also led the charge calling for the end to private for-profit immigration detention facilities. Since 2019, Crow and his staff have visited the GEO facility in Aurora more than 100 times to conduct oversight. Public reports of such visits, along with conditions at the facility, are published on Crow’s website.
A PDF of the letter can be found here, with full text appearing below:
Dear George C. Zoley:
We write to express profound concern with the lack of transparency in response to public health and safety issues at the Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora, Colorado, operated by the GEO Group. Through consistent oversight visits and good-faith engagement with local facility personnel, our offices have worked to address prior public health and safety concerns at this facility. However, mounting bureaucratic hurdles threaten our ability to conduct oversight.
At the same time, the GEO Group is refusing to cooperate with the State of Colorado and Adams County, despite a long-standing history of cooperation between the facility and Colorado public health officials. Most recently, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), Adams County Health Department (ACHD), and Denver Health have attempted to respond to a confirmed active tuberculosis case involving an individual at the facility after receiving a positive lab result on June 21, 2026. Despite repeated requests for additional information, state and local public health officials have been unable to independently verify that everyone potentially exposed was appropriately identified, tested, evaluated, and connected with necessary treatment or follow-up.
On June 25, 2026, ACHD issued a Public Health Order (PHO) to conduct a disease control investigation in response to the confirmed tuberculosis case. The PHO, in part, relies on longstanding state and local authority to “use every available means to investigate immediately and ascertain the existence of all reported or suspected cases of active tuberculosis.” On August 13, 2026, CDPHE issued a PHO to direct the GEO Group to provide information to CDPHE and the Denver Health Tuberculosis Clinic needed for a public health investigation. The deadline to submit information outlined in that order has now passed and the GEO Group declined to comply.
The refusal to cooperate fully with requests from ACHD, CDPHE, and Denver Health belies a history of cooperation in which the facility’s medical team has previously met regularly with ACHD and Denver Health to share relevant epidemiological and medical information, and to coordinate access when needed, in order to investigate specific public health issues. This constructive cooperation is essential to ensuring the health and well-being of individuals held in detention at this facility. Public health officials need full transparency – not summary statements – to investigate because this threatens the safety of detained individuals, facility staff, and our surrounding community.
We demand the GEO Group comply with the PHOs issued by ACHD and CDPHE and encourage the resumption of cooperation with state and local officials so experts can address any public health risk at the facility in a timely manner. It is only by acting in concert, through rigorous and continuous oversight at the federal, state, and local level, that we can protect the health and well-being of detainees, facility personnel, and the broader community.
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