Immigration and detention: Aurora ICE facility under scrutiny
For years, an immigration detention center in an industrial Aurora neighborhood has operated without much attention or scrutiny from the community.
But in 2019, the privately-operated detention center’s population exploded due to what President Trump calls a crisis at the border. The facility’s capacity nearly doubled to accommodate a rush of people who have turned up at the United States-Mexico border. Many are seeking asylum, saying their home countries are too dangerous.
As conditions on the border dominated the headlines, people in Colorado began to focus their emotions about the intense immigration policy debate on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center on Aurora’s Oakland Street. Complaints about medical care and mistreatment began to grow louder after Rocky Mountain PBS published a long-secret internal review into the death of a man from Iran who died in ICE custody in 2017.
The RMPBS Insight with John Ferrugia team spent months investigating complaints and chronicling intensifying criticism of the detention center, marked by protests, counter-protests, lawsuits and critical government reports about how people are treated while they are held there awaiting the resolution of their immigration cases.
ICE Detention
Wrongful death lawsuit filed after death of man held in Aurora immigration detention center
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The family of a longtime Colorado resident who died nearly two years ago in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the private company that operates ICE's Aurora detention facility and its former doctor.
Read MorePolice often do not investigate alleged crimes in Aurora's contract detention center
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Sexual abuse allegations and suspected physical assaults are going unchecked by law enforcement at the controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Aurora, a Rocky Mountain PBS investigation has found.
Read More“We didn’t have people who cared enough to save him”: Records describe Colorado man’s death in custody of immigration enforcement
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The daughter of a man who died in the custody of immigration officials in Aurora nearly two years ago said she wants accountability, after Rocky Mountain PBS uncovered a government investigation criticizing his treatment inside Aurora's privately-operated detention center.
Read MoreLocal ICE leader defends office’s work amid protests
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Local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) leadership are pushing back against months of protest and criticism aimed at the privately-operated immigration detention center in Aurora, opening the doors to the often-secretive facility and vowing to answer questions from the community.
Read MoreTeen headed to tour college campus detained by ICE for 71 days
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An 18-year-old Colorado honors student was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) just days before she was set to begin her freshman year of college.
Read MoreWatch extended video of protest, American flag removal at Aurora immigration detention center
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Simultaneous protests at the immigration detention facility in Aurora last Friday drew national headlines after protesters from the smaller group crossed makeshift barriers, removed the American flag, and raised the Mexican flag and anti-police flags outside the facility’s entrance.
Read MoreICE review of immigration detainee's death finds medical care deficiencies at Aurora facility
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Medical staff at the privately-operated immigration detention center in Aurora failed to seek emergency care for a detainee who later died, a report obtained by Rocky Mountain PBS shows.
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