Full Breakdown
Lawsuit Targets Proposed GEO Group ICE Detention Center in Hudson, Colorado
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Proposed Facility and Legal Challenge
A nonprofit coalition led by the legal organization Towards Justice has amended a lawsuit filed last summer to block the GEO Group’s plan to convert a defunct correctional building in Hudson, Colorado, into a federal immigration detention center. The plaintiffs argue the project violates local land-use codes and that the town lacks authority to approve ICE operations. The amended complaint adds newly obtained municipal documents that, according to the plaintiffs, contradict an earlier town statement denying such authority.
Zoning Background and Conditional Use Permit
Planning Director Jennifer Woods classified the property as a “correctional facility” and noted that, under a liberal reading of the Land Development Code, such a facility could be treated as a government building and thus permitted by right. The plaintiffs contend that the CUP applies only to the now-abandoned Alaska Department of Corrections prison and that the use has been idle for more than a decade, rendering the permit obsolete under local law.
Official Statements & Responses
Senators John Hickenlooper, Michael Bennet, and Representative Brittany Petersen have jointly urged former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to abandon the project, citing concerns over oversight and detainee access to legal representation. The proposed center would add roughly 1,200 beds to the 1,500-bed capacity already operating at Colorado’s sole ICE detention site in Aurora.
Verbatim Quotes
- “This detention center is not in compliance and can't move forward with operations at least until the people of Hudson and the Town Council have an opportunity for their voices to be heard,” — David Seligman, Executive Director of Towards Justice
- “GEO is an out-of-state, multi-billion-dollar private prison company, seeking to operate a private immigration detention center for the federal government, for ICE. So, this is not a correctional center, which in any case wouldn't be permissible under zoning laws. Additionally, even if it were a correctional facility, it is nothing like a government building,” — David Seligman, Executive Director of Towards Justice
- “The town objectively and lawfully applies it's land use code in all land use cases,” — Town Manager Bryce Lange