COVID Outbreak in Aurora ICE Facility, Nineteen New Positives

Nineteen detainees in the same dormitory at the Aurora Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days, according to a report from Congressman Jason Crow's office, marking the most significant outbreak at that detention center.

"This spread within a single dorm shows the inherently dangerous nature of congregate settings like ICE detention centers," says Liz Jordan, an attorney with the Denver-based Civil Rights Enforcement and Education Center. "Even if the facility were following all CDC recommendations, an outbreak like this is not only possible, but likely. The safest thing ICE can do is release people to shelter at home with their families."

Aurora Fire Rescue confirmed that it had been notified of the outbreak by facility staffers on October 2, per local ordinance.

Over the course of the pandemic, nineteen staff members at the center have tested positive for COVID-19, and 73 detainees at the facility, formally known as the Aurora Contract Detention Facility, have tested positive. Many of those cases have been new arrivals who are tested, then kept separate from the general population for fourteen days. Others are found in the general population, but those have been relatively rare. Until now.

Read more: https://www.westword.com/news/ice-detention-facility-colorado-positive-covid-jason-crow-11813825