Unannounced inspections at Aurora’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in November found violations of agency policy that ranged from unnecessary handcuffing to food-borne illness risks, according to a Homeland Security inspector general’s report released Thursday.
The Aurora facility, which has faced enhanced local and congressional oversight this year amid reports of outbreaks and quarantines, was inspected last year after complaints and concerns from immigrant rights groups. It is owned by GEO Group, a private contractor.
The spot inspections found “serious issues” with the segregation of detainees, namely that detainees “were not treated with the care required under ICE detention standards,” the June 3 report states. Handcuffs were used when they weren’t required, according to inspectors.
“Detainees were not allowed in-person visitation, even though the facility has rooms that can accommodate this for detainees,” the report states.
Food preparation was not as poor in Aurora as it was in three other ICE facilities that were also inspected and could be “easily fixed” by staff. At an ICE processing facility in California owned by GEO Group, the same company that operates Aurora’s facility, investigators found “immediate, unaddressed risks,” such as nooses in detainees’ cells, inadequate medical care and overly restrictive segregation.
In some cases, managers in Aurora agreed to make changes, by reconsidering in-person visitation requests and training staff on when to use handcuffs, for example. In other instances, GEO Group openly disagreed with the conclusions of ICE’s independent inspectors.
One such example was on the question of outdoor recreation, which is required by ICE’s own rules. Inspectors concluded the Aurora site lacked an outdoor recreation space, and men and women had to share their indoor space, “so their access was limited.” But managers in Aurora said its open-air rec area, with a chain-link roof to prevent escapes, was more than adequate.
“The design allows for fresh air, sunshine and outdoor temperatures,” they wrote to the inspector general’s office. “The recreation areas are large enough to play basketball, handball and limited soccer.”
GEO Group issued a statement on the report Thursday that said the company “is committed to abiding by the Performance-Based National Detention Standards set by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
“The findings identified in this report pertaining to GEO-operated facilities were swiftly corrected last year,” the statement continues. “We take seriously any shortcomings in our delivery of consistent, high-quality care, taking immediate action as needed. We always strive to provide culturally responsive services in safe and humane environments that meet the needs of the individuals in the care of federal immigration authorities.”
On Thursday, a local spokeswoman for ICE deferred to the report and the Aurora management’s rebuttals. The agency offered no further comment on the Homeland Security report.
Congressional critics of GEO Group and the Aurora facility, led by Rep. Jason Crow, have pushed for more access to it. Crow, an Aurora Democrat, called the inspector general’s report “deeply disturbing.”
“What has happened at the detention facility in Aurora is part of a far larger systemic problem,” the congressman said in a statement. “These conditions are unsanitary, they put public health at risk, and show a fundamental disregard for human life.”
Rep. Diana DeGette, a Denver Democrat, questioned the use of companies, such as GEO Group, in holding immigration detainees.
“We need to take a hard look at ICE’s use of these private prisons and, at the very least, make clear to the agency that outsourcing its responsibility to physically hold these detainees does not absolve it of its obligation to properly care for them,” DeGette said in a statement Thursday.
