Organizers built a powerful movement against the laws and raids feeding Aurora.

Defending individuals:
• In 2010, the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC) stopped the deportation of Edgar Niebla, detained by a school resource officer—the first public deportation defense victory in Colorado.

• Fort Morgan residents formed Amanecer Fort Morgan to fight false SSN charges, which were dropped.

New protections:
• Courts ruled ICE holds unconstitutional. The Metro Denver Sanctuary Coalition formed in 2014, with Arturo Hernández becoming the first person in Colorado to take sanctuary. Organizers also passed the Wage Protection Act, confronting widespread wage theft.

Kamyar Samimi, a longtime lawful permanent resident, passed away at Aurora just two weeks after his arrest. Federal (DHS OIG) and community (ACLU Colorado) investigations showed how "cost-saving" measures — such as under-resourced medical units — reflected a broader GEO corporate pattern.

• Outbreaks of mumps and chickenpox force quarantines; local coverage exposes confusion and gaps.
• A DHS Inspector General sweep finds ICE-wide violations of detention standards—medical care, food safety, segregation—illustrating that Aurora’s problems are part of a larger pattern.

• Since taking office in 2019, Rep. Jason Crow has regularly pushed for transparency and accountability at Aurora, including site visits and public calls for reform.

• On October 13, 2022, Melvin Ariel Calero-Mendoza lost his life in ICE custody at Aurora. His family’s lawsuit describes medical negligence and delays in emergency response, reflecting the deep pain and unanswered questions his loved ones continue to face.

Yet accountability ends with reports: the Aurora ICE contract, and the subsequent profits, continue.

Through FOIA litigation, the ACLU forces ICE to release documents showing plans to expand private immigrant detention in Colorado — with potential sites identified in Hudson, Walsenburg, Cheyenne Mountain, and La Junta.

Subsequent unredacted documents reveal targeted timelines and bed capacities, confirming that GEO/ICE are actively preparing to grow detention despite years of documented harm and public opposition.

This fight isn’t about fixing one “bad” facility — it’s about abolishing a system built on secrecy, profit, and neglect. GEO and ICE expand while our communities are harmed.

From the beginning, people have resisted — filing lawsuits, building sanctuary, holding vigils, and standing with families. Their groundwork made today’s organizing possible. Aurora has always been a testing ground for detention, and now it must be the breaking point.