Hey fam, heads up – a health crisis just hit the Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora, Colorado. ICE detainees are reporting widespread flu and stomach bugs sweeping through the 1,532-bed center run by GEO Group 😷.
Local health officials say they’ve received multiple reports of gastrointestinal and respiratory illnesses, but ICE hasn’t shared how many people are sick. Back in February 2020, inspections found dozens quarantined with flu and mumps, and the center had three outbreaks in just four months in 2019 😲.
It’s not just this outbreak. Studies show 17 of 22 ICE facilities faced vaccine-preventable illness outbreaks between January 2017 and March 2020. Some spots even had a chickenpox run for nearly three years, plus year-round flu transmission.
Critics point to for-profit management as part of the problem. In 2025, 86% of ICE detainees were held in facilities operated by companies like GEO Group and CoreCivic. Reports by the ACLU and NPR have highlighted inadequate medical care, filthy conditions, and even cases where mismanaged treatment led to deaths.
Pressure is mounting. On January 12, Aurora’s city council condemned ICE operations, and in mid-January, U.S. Representative Jason Crow filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging it blocked Congressional oversight of these centers 📢.
This situation shines a light on how health and human rights can be sidelined behind contracts and politics. Young activists across South and Southeast Asia are watching – because health justice and migrant rights matter everywhere 🌏✊.
Reference(s):
Sickness spreads as U.S. immigration detention health crisis worsens
cgtn.com
