ICE's Colorado footprint is growing as scrutiny mounts
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
ICE is opening a detention center in the old Hudson Correctional Facility. Photo: Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Federal immigration enforcement is growing in Colorado, where detention capacity is poised to nearly double as the Trump administration ramps up deportations.
Why it matters: The expansion comes as ICE arrests surge — and legal challenges and public resistance intensify across the state.
Driving the news: Private prison operator GEO Group is preparing to open a 1,188-bed immigration detention center in Hudson, northeast of Denver — adding to its 1,500-bed facility in Aurora.
- ICE tells Axios the extra capacity strengthens its ability to carry out the Trump administration's immigration enforcement priorities, adding that new federal funding is allowing it to expand detention capacity nationwide.
By the numbers: The agency arrested nearly 500 people in Colorado in July — the highest monthly total in more than a year, per a new Denver Post analysis.
Zoom in: GEO's Aurora facility is facing heightened scrutiny from state leaders.
- Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is suing GEO, ICE and the Department of Homeland Security over access to investigate a tuberculosis case at the Aurora facility.
- Health officials say the investigation has been stalled for more than two months.
What they're saying: GEO disagrees with the state's characterization of the tuberculosis dispute, arguing in court that the records sought by health officials belong to the U.S. government and that ICE controls access to the Aurora facility.
- The company says there are no active tuberculosis cases there and that it conducted its own public health investigation.
- GEO did not respond to Axios' multiple requests for comment.
Separately, Colorado's Democratic congressional delegation is demanding answers about security, training and oversight after a GEO employee was arrested in July for allegedly shooting and injuring a protester outside the Aurora detention center.
Between the lines: The controversies are raising questions about how much visibility and authority state officials will have at GEO's new Hudson facility.
State of play: ICE faces legal and public resistance elsewhere in Colorado.
- The ACLU of Colorado alleges in a new court filing that ICE continues to make unlawful warrantless arrests despite a federal judge's restrictions. A judge ruled in May that the agency had "materially violated" an earlier injunction and ordered additional training and oversight.
- Glenwood Springs officials voted last month to sue the landlord of a building housing a short-term ICE detention facility, arguing the operation violates local zoning rules.
- Students from more than 180 schools across Colorado planned anti-ICE walkouts Friday.
What's next: GEO says it expects to complete activation of the Hudson facility by the end of 2026, with normal operations expected in early 2027.
- But an ICE spokesperson didn't say when Hudson would begin accepting detainees or how quickly it would reach capacity.