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Colorado sues ICE contractor over tuberculosis case information
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Crime & Justice

Colorado sues ICE contractor over tuberculosis case information

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency In the courts
  • Colorado's Attorney General has sued a contractor for an ICE detention center to obtain information on a confirmed tuberculosis case from June.
  • The lawsuit seeks to compel GEO Group to comply with a public health order and provide medical data and contact tracing details.
  • This action follows similar lawsuits filed by New Jersey and Washington against GEO Group concerning access to detention facilities and health information.

Colorado's Attorney General has filed a lawsuit against the contractor operating an immigration detention center, seeking to compel the release of crucial information related to a confirmed tuberculosis case. The legal action targets GEO Group, the contractor for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Aurora, following its refusal to comply with a public health order issued on August 13. The order, which expired on August 18, demanded specific medical data and contact tracing details necessary to investigate the spread of the infectious disease.

Attorney General Phil Weiser stated that GEO Group's non-compliance is endangering public health in Colorado and violating state law. Since the infectious tuberculosis case was reported in June, county and state health departments have urgently requested patient data, potential contacts, and information on transfers or releases to conduct thorough contact tracing. Without this information, health officials warn that it is impossible to track potential infections, and the situation could worsen if infected individuals are transferred, deported, or allowed to continue working at the facility.

The lawsuit highlights that GEO Group's contract with ICE requires adherence to local laws and cooperation with health authorities regarding tuberculosis cases and detainee movements. GEO Group reportedly responded on August 17, suggesting that requests for records should be directed to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and denying active cases. However, the lawsuit notes that GEO Group did not claim to lack the information or to have been ordered by DHS not to release it. This legal battle in Colorado is not isolated; New Jersey and Washington have also filed suits against GEO Group this year over similar issues of access and information sharing at their detention centers.

GEO Group is endangering the public health of Coloradans by refusing to comply with the Department of Health's order and by violating Colorado law.

— Phil WeiserColorado Attorney General, announcing the lawsuit against GEO Group.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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