Particle.news

Download on the App Store

Six Colorado Sites Offered to Expand ICE Detention Capacity

ICE is reviewing bids for repurposed prisons, nursing centers and modular units funded by a recent $45 billion appropriation for detention infrastructure.

The Rev. Mike Moran joins a small group protesting activist Jeanette Vizguerra's detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement outside the GEO Group-operated Aurora ICE Processing Center in Aurora on March 18, 2025. Vizguerra was detained by ICE agents on Monday and placed in the facility. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)
Image

Overview

  • In February, ICE issued a request for information to secure 850–950 new beds within two hours of its Denver field office and satellite offices in Colorado and Wyoming.
  • Documents released by the ACLU in July show at least six Colorado facilities pitched for conversion, spanning closed prisons, a former healthcare center and modular structures.
  • Proposed locations include CoreCivic’s Huerfano County Correctional Center, GEO Group’s Cheyenne Mountain Center, Highlands REIT’s Hudson Correctional Facility, two Baptiste Group properties and a soft-sided facility by Apex Site Services.
  • Colorado’s sole existing ICE facility in Aurora is contracted for 1,360 beds and averaged 1,159 detainees daily as of mid-June, underscoring capacity strains.
  • ICE has not made any final site selections and is evaluating proposals against requirements for multiple security levels, segregation units and nearby medical and legal services.