Operator of Aurora immigrant detention center fails to comply with state tuberculosis order

The GEO Group, the private, for-profit company that operates the immigrant detention center in Aurora, failed to comply with a state public health order to turn over information about tuberculosis within the facility, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced Tuesday night.

That now sets the stage for a potential legal fight that would pit state authority versus federal autonomy in public health investigations at facilities such as the one in Aurora.

CDPHE and public health officials in Adams County say they are required by state law to investigate cases of tuberculosis — such as the one reported in June at the GEO facility. After GEO failed to comply with a county health order, CDPHE issued its own order last week, setting end-of-day Monday as the deadline.

The GEO Group, backed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, contends that it conducted its own investigation and that there is no threat to the public. GEO says the June case is the only case of tuberculosis identified at the facility, and that the person infected has since been removed from the country.

But GEO has refused to provide health officials with more information about that investigation and has rebuffed repeated requests for details on how many people, including staff members, may have been exposed; how many have been tested; and where all those folks are now.

“While statements that there are no active or suspected cases may be reassuring, they are not a substitute for compliance,” CDPHE wrote in a statement Tuesday. “Public officials must be able to verify the facts, identify people who may have been exposed, and ensure they receive appropriate follow-up care. GEO has a responsibility not only to the people in its facility, but also to its employees and surrounding community.”

CDPHE, according to the statement, is working with Adams County officials and representatives from the Colorado Attorney General’s Office to decide what to do next, “including legal remedies.”

Going to court to enforce the order could be complicated, though.

A new law passed earlier this year expands state and local authority to conduct health and safety investigations at immigrant detention facilities. Under the law, failure to cooperate with a disease investigation can be punished by a civil penalty up to $50,000.

But the GEO Group has sued to overturn the law, and the case is currently tied up in federal court, where a judge is considering whether to issue a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking the law while that lawsuit plays out. Last week, Adams County health officials cited the lawsuit as reason not to pursue legal action to enforce their own health order against GEO.

“We have received advice from our counsel that it is likely a situation where the court would stay our motion until that litigation is resolved,” Kelly Weidenbach, the executive director of the Adams County Health Department, said, referencing the lawsuit.

State health officials, at the urging of immigrant-advocacy organizations, say they are not giving up. In its statement, CDPHE said that GEO’s “continued refusal to cooperate significantly limits the investigation, but we remain determined to obtain the information needed to protect public health.”