Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Lawmakers and advocates say more transparency and inspection access needed at ICE and privately run detention sites
Loading...
Summary
At a League of Women Voters Colorado event, Representative Noquita Ricks and participants raised concerns about health checks, inspection access and transfers in ICE detention sites, described barriers to inspections (including a reported seven-day notice requirement), and cited allegations about private contractor GEO's profitability; Ricks offered to follow up on outstanding oversight questions.
Participants at a League of Women Voters Colorado virtual meeting pressed Representative Noquita Ricks on state-level oversight, public-health inspections and transparency at ICE detention sites and facilities run by private contractors such as GEO.
"There has to be, like, a 7 day notice," Ricks said, describing restrictions on unscheduled inspections that Representative Crow and others have encountered when trying to inspect some facilities. She said inspection access can be limited, that visitors are sometimes denied entry to particular areas and that reports available to lawmakers can be heavily redacted or based on facility self-reporting.
Attendees noted recent reports of small ICE offices and secret holding locations in Colorado (a commonly mentioned example was Glenwood Springs) and worried about alleged extended holds beyond permitted time limits. Ricks said she was not aware of specific state statutes addressing the matter and offered to follow up after the meeting to gather more information about locations, applicable rules and whether statutory or local remedies exist.
The meeting included anecdotal accounts and a medical example: Ricks recounted a case she said involved a Ghanaian national who required gallbladder surgery while in ICE custody and was initially unable to contact family members from the facility; a hospital employee later facilitated communication and the person ultimately obtained a fair hearing. Ricks presented the account to underline concerns about conditions and access to counsel.
Speakers at the meeting also cited media or advocacy reports they said showed a sharp profit increase for GEO, the private operator of the Aurora Detention Center. "I saw a report from GEO ... their profits were up 790% this year," a speaker said. That figure was offered as a citation of an external report and was not verified during the session.
Why it matters: advocates at the meeting argued that lack of inspection access, redacted reporting and transfers between facilities can impede medical care and legal representation for people in custody. Ricks and participants urged continued oversight and legislative attention while noting limits on state authority over federal immigration enforcement.
Next steps: Ricks offered to gather more information for the League on inspection protocols, state authority and the locations and rules applicable to reported holding sites; the League said it will host authors of a GEO accountability report at a separate event in mid-April.
