GEO Group blocked a legally required tuberculosis investigation at the Aurora ICE detention facility

On July 15, 2026, Adams County, Colorado health officials said the GEO Group, the private company that operates the Aurora ICE Processing Center, had blocked a legally required investigation into the possible spread of tuberculosis inside the facility. After a detainee tested positive for active tuberculosis in early June, the Adams County Health Department launched an investigation as mandated by state law, but department executive director Kelly Weidenbach stated in a court affidavit that GEO Group, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or both had "implemented significant roadblocks" preventing her staff from conducting or completing a meaningful investigation.

According to the department, investigators were denied access to the infected patient, medical records, information on detainee movement, and other details needed to determine who may have been exposed and how far the disease had spread. The county issued a public health order on June 25 requiring compliance, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment sent a letter to the facility's warden demanding that officials immediately provide the access, records, and information needed to conduct the investigation, warning that "every delay makes it harder to identify, test, and treat" to prevent spread. County officials confirmed only one tuberculosis case, saying the blocked investigation left them unable to verify separate reporting by The Guardian that at least 12 detainees had tested positive.

In a statement to media outlets, an ICE spokesperson denied there was any outbreak, saying the facility had no confirmed active tuberculosis cases and had followed all appropriate laws and guidelines. The obstruction followed a January episode in which county investigators probing a gastrointestinal outbreak at the same facility said they were prevented from interviewing management, and it came as the GEO Group separately sued in federal court to block a new state law strengthening local health agencies' authority to inspect immigration detention facilities.

Updates

2026-08-10 — State still blocked from investigation; advocates demanded a public health order [3, 4]

As of early August 2026, GEO Group had missed a July 17 deadline set by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and still had not granted access needed to complete the investigation; CDPHE said it had repeatedly demanded contact with facility leadership without result. On Aug. 10, community advocates, including retired pediatrician Maureen Daly, staged a symbolic "people's public health order" signing at the Colorado Capitol, saying "inaction and lack of urgency from the Governor's office and CDPHE have lost our trust" and calling on the state to fine GEO Group. CDPHE's executive director called it "an unprecedented situation to have a federal contractor not respond to a public health order."

2026-08-13 — State issued a formal public health order after a two-month standoff [5, 6, 7]

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment escalated beyond Adams County's June 25 order and issued its own state-level public health order requiring GEO Group to submit tuberculosis case and contact-tracing information -- including exposed individuals' identities, test and treatment records, and transfer/discharge details with any cross-border notification efforts -- to the state health department and Denver Health's TB Clinic by August 17, 2026. CDPHE said the facility had gone more than a month without complying with the county's order. GEO Group referred a request for comment to ICE, which had previously claimed compliance with CDC guidelines but had not provided supporting documentation. Adams County publicly applauded the state order as reinforcing its own.

2026-08-17 — GEO missed compliance deadline; Hickenlooper denied answers on visit [8, 9]

GEO Group missed CDPHE's August 17 compliance deadline without providing the required tuberculosis case and contact-tracing information. That same day, Sen. John Hickenlooper toured the Aurora facility and asked about testing procedures, GEO/ICE's investigation, and the whereabouts of exposed individuals; a GEO representative told him "We're not going to release any information on the advice of counsel." CDPHE spokesperson Hope Shuler subsequently confirmed on the record that "The GEO Group has not complied with the public health order or provided the required information," and that CDPHE was "actively coordinating with Adams County, the Colorado Attorney General's Office, and Denver Health TB Clinic on next steps, including legal remedies."

2026-08-19 — Colorado AG sued GEO Group to enforce the compliance order [10]

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser sued GEO Group in Adams County state court, seeking a court order to force the company to turn over the tuberculosis case and contact-tracing information CDPHE had demanded. "The GEO Group is endangering Coloradans' public health by refusing to follow the state health department's order and by violating Colorado law," Weiser said in a statement. GEO separately filed its own federal lawsuit challenging the state's authority to investigate at the facility, putting the two cases on a collision course between state public-health oversight and federal detention authority.