There has been a great deal of press about The GEO Group, Inc., a multi-billion dollar business and one of the largest private prison companies, operating facilities all over the world — including the Aurora Contract Detention Facility. Yet no reports were as revelatory as the ones I received firsthand from dozens of detainees who shared personal stories of their heartbreak and suffering at this Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.

Within an hour of my visit to the detention facility in Aurora, I felt panicked, wishing I could run out to my car and cry. You see, the facility is like many prisons I have toured throughout the state but the people housed in this facility are not violent criminals. They are mostly immigrants being held in civil custody. About 85% of those held are immigrants seeking asylum, according to GEO employees. They are individuals that fled persecution and torture in their home country only to be re-traumatized in ours. On the day of my visit, there were 1,226 detainees. The facility has the capacity to hold more than 1,500. I hope it never reaches capacity and that not one more person is detained. When I commented to the accompanying GEO and ICE staff that the facility looks like a prison, they were proud, as if they had just passed a prison review. Sadly, they missed my point.

The waiting area of the facility was full of “advertisements” of what the facility has to offer. Glossy posters previewed the facility’s dental area, food services, legal library and commissary. The sales-like posters were odd given that no one chooses the GEO detention facility. The advertisements were later to be proven false.

GEO and ICE personnel were hospitable during my tour. I was allowed to view a fair amount of the facility and allowed to speak one-on-one with several detainees. Indeed, 127 individuals signed up to speak to me. I think many just wanted someone to talk to and someone to listen to their plight. Time restraints did not allow me to meet with everyone and officials did not respond to my request to return for more interviews.

According to GEO officials, the average length of stay for a detainee is 55 days. I don’t dispute that number and underscore that it is an average. I spoke to people that had been there for 65 days, 90 days, 10 months, 13 months, 16 months, and almost 2 years. Many have gone several months without any court appearance and most have zero knowledge of their case status. I can’t imagine being in that facility for one day, and the thought that many have no idea how much longer they will be there or of their status was excruciating.

The complaints I heard about the facility itself were recurring. Many complained of poor medical attention. Serious ailments are addressed with ibuprofen. One person told me of their constant complaints of a toothache that went unanswered. Finally, with the help of fellow detainees, they pulled out the tooth. Many cited losing fillings that have yet to be addressed. Medical personnel is woefully inadequate. We know that in 2018 there was only one doctor on staff, according to lawsuits that have been brought by inmates who say they were made to wait for months for medical care.

Several complained of spoiled food and were convinced that they received decent food the day of my tour solely because I was there.

There were complaints of poor treatment by guards, especially toward those who could not speak English. Detainees are not allowed contact visits and one man was saddened by not being able to hold his 8-month-old son. The facility could be made to accommodate contact visits, but according to GEO, it would come at the expense of space for contact visits with attorneys. False choices in these situations perplex me.

The women’s’ dorm was the most depressing. There were 39 female detainees that day. Many complained of receiving inadequate hygiene products like soap and deodorant unless they had money to pay for it through the commissary. Women are not allowed to leave their area nor allowed to perform work like the men because there aren’t enough female supervisors and women cannot work under male supervision. So, the women sleep through the day to make the time pass. GEO did point out that there is a knitting class for women and many are excited to attend.

The recreation space is a concrete wall with wire covering on top. In the area was a stationary bike seemingly from the 1950s and a basketball hoop. No one was using the area for recreation. Instead, some women gathered for what appeared to be a bible study and others were napping.

Male detainees are allowed to work outside their pods in the kitchen or throughout the facility doing janitorial work or laundry. GEO, the multi-billion dollar corporation was paying the detainees $1/day for their services, according to a lawsuit. More pay would, of course, reflect on GEO’s profit margin.

My day at the Aurora Contract Detention Facility was but one day. I have heard GEO’s rebuttals to the negative comments made against them, but from what I saw and heard that day, they don’t ring true. GEO is a private company and is not held accountable or made to be transparent. There is no way to verify its claims that all is well. But there was ample corroboration that day for the many claims of neglect, mistreatment and poor conditions.

GEO Chairman and CEO, George Zoley said, in a recent memo, “…we are concerned about the unprecedented humanitarian crisis at our Southern border.” I am too. After visiting the facility in Aurora, I am equally concerned about the humanitarian crisis in our own backyard. Zoley went on to say, “We are deeply committed to delivering culturally responsive services in safe and humane environments and to treating everyone in our care with dignity and respect.” I am committed to holding GEO to that statement and to the goal that one day, I won’t have to visit our neighbors there at all.

Denise S. Maes is the public policy director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado.

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