Outside probe of tuberculosis in Aurora's ICE detention center remains stuck as officials press for access

John Aguilar, The Denver Post on Jul 20, 2026

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State and county health officials continued to hit roadblocks Monday in their attempts to gain access to the federal immigration detention center in Aurora to investigate a case of tuberculosis in the detainee population.

Jennifer Lucero-Alvarez, a spokeswoman for the Adams County Health Department, told The Denver Post in a statement that as of Monday, the private prison company Geo Group “has not provided all the information or access necessary for (the department) and Denver Health Tuberculosis Clinic to complete the public health investigation.”

That, despite the state’s top public health official issuing a directive last week that facility leaders allow inspectors to review medical records for the detainee who contracted the potentially fatal respiratory illness. Health officials also have said they want to look into unconfirmed reports of more TB cases in recent weeks.

Jill Hunsaker Ryan, the executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, gave Geo until last Friday to let inspectors in.

But the deadline has come and gone. It did not spur the release of new information from the Geo Group or ICE, said Hope Shuler, a spokeswoman for the state agency’s Division of Disease Control and Public Health Response. The company operates the 1,530-bed facility on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Gov. Jared Polis, she said, had requested a discussion with Geo officials but had not heard back.

“Our priority remains obtaining the cooperation needed to do a communicable disease investigation,” Shuler said. “CDPHE has also reassured the facility and federal officials that the information being requested is standard for this type of public health investigation.”

Meanwhile, 9News reported late last week that ICE said in a statement that a case of tuberculosis had been detected in the facility on June 25 and that the person who had contracted it was “treated, cleared, and removed from the country.” Neither ICE nor Geo Group responded to The Post’s request for comment Monday.

Tuberculosis, a potentially fatal illness, spreads through the air and typically affects a patient’s lungs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Adams County Health Department had issued a public health order on June 25 requiring GEO to “comply with Colorado public health laws governing tuberculosis investigations,” which includes allowing health officials to interview the case patient and others, look at medical records and get access to exposed individuals.

“We do not have direct communication from the facility to understand the situation inside,” Lucero-Alvarez said. “We remain concerned about individuals in the facility, including those who are detained and staff who might have been exposed.”

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement Monday that his office “stands ready to work with the governor’s office and state health officials to bring Geo into compliance with the law.”

“As a private company, Geo Group is required to comply with state health and safety regulations,” Weiser said. “The reported tuberculosis case at the ICE detention camp in Aurora is a serious public health issue and Geo must work with the state to investigate any potential outbreak or exposure to others.”

But what any enforcement action might look like — and when it might occur — wasn’t clear.

The investigation is at least the second public health probe into the Aurora facility this year, after Adams County officials sought more information about an alleged respiratory or gastrointestinal outbreak in January. That investigation didn’t identify an outbreak — though it, too, was frustrated by delays and resistance from officials at the facility.

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