Exclusive: Dems demand DHS abandon plans for new Colorado ICE facility
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Colorado Democrats are urging the Department of Homeland Security to scrap plans for a new ICE detention facility in rural Weld County.
Why it matters: The move is intended to pressure the Trump administration to rein in its aggressive expansion of immigration detention as public confidence in ICE sours.
State of play: A letter sent Tuesday, co-signed by U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, U.S. Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting ICE director Todd Lyons outlined demands.
- Democrats say they are "deeply concerned" that the Colorado expansion will mean less oversight and accountability due to its remote location — far less accessible than the existing Aurora site, which faces its own oversight challenges.
- Lawmakers want DHS to provide details on why it chose the site and its plans to ensure access for attorneys representing inmates.
Catch up quick: Plans for a new facility roughly 30 miles northeast of Denver in Hudson call for taking over a dormant prison called the Big Horn Correctional Facility, per records obtained by the ACLU Colorado.
- The federal government hasn't shared many public details about the project.
Between the lines: The GEO Group — which operates Colorado's sole ICE facility — had a $39 million contract for six months of service starting in April 2025, though the facility remained empty, per Newsline.
By the numbers: ICE arrests in Denver are up 211% since Trump's second term started last January, per an analysis from University of Colorado Boulder researchers released last week.
- Meanwhile, in-custody deaths at ICE facilities reached a two-decade high last year. The increased enforcement has prompted some Denver-area community leaders to call for abolishing ICE.
Context: Aurora houses the state's only ICE detention facility, containing 1,532 beds. Adding the Hudson facility would expand the agency's capacity in the state to more than 2,700, per the letter.
What they're saying: "We have no new detention centers to announce in Hudson, Colorado at this time," a DHS spokesperson said in a statement to Axios Denver.
- Secretary Noem is "willing to work with officials on both sides of the aisle to expand detention space to help ICE law enforcement carry out the largest deportation effort in American history," the statement adds.