Two advocacy groups filed a federal lawsuit claiming the planned Colorado ICE facility in Hudson violates environmental law because the government did not complete a required review before moving ahead.
According to the complaint filed Monday, GreenLatinos and the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition allege the Department of Homeland Security failed to conduct any analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act for the proposed Big Horn Detention Facility. The groups say federal law obligates the government to examine potential effects related to infectious disease, air pollution, and water use for a 1,250-bed immigrant detention center.
The plaintiffs note the site sits on the lot of a former state prison in rural Hudson, about 30 miles northeast of Denver. They argue the facility’s intended population would nearly double the town’s current population, and that the absence of an environmental review keeps residents and public officials in the dark about potential impacts.
In their filing, the groups say that by not conducting a NEPA analysis, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has denied the agency itself and the public, including Colorado’s elected officials in Congress, information about consequences and potential ways to mitigate harms, as well as the chance to submit comments.
Colorado ICE facility contracts and operations
Colorado’s existing immigrant holding center, the Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora, is operated by the GEO Group. GEO is also expected to run the proposed Hudson site. In December, the federal government signed an initial six-month, 39 million dollar agreement with GEO to manage the Hudson facility. In July, GEO announced a five-year contract with ICE for the facility that it estimates will generate about 85 million dollars annually.
The advocacy groups question GEO’s capacity to manage infectious diseases, pointing to reports of a tuberculosis outbreak at the Aurora facility earlier this year. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, a Democrat, sued GEO in August seeking access to health records as part of a state investigation into the incident. GEO sued the state in June and last month obtained a partial injunction limiting new expansions of state inspection authority at the Aurora center.
Environmental and community concerns
Beyond disease control, the lawsuit raises concerns about air quality in a region already under heightened Environmental Protection Agency oversight due to persistent noncompliance with federal standards. One 73-year-old member of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition cited potential impacts on air quality and nearby protected areas, including the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge where she birds, according to the filing.
Separately, several residents filed suit against the Hudson town council in July seeking to block construction of the facility.
What the lawsuit seeks
Invoking the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, the plaintiffs ask the court to issue an injunction to halt construction until the federal government completes an environmental assessment. The groups are represented by Boulder attorney Robert Ukeiley, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately comment.