Southern Ute Indian Tribe: No agreement with ICE on detention plans

DURANGO, Colo. — According to documents obtained by The Washington Post, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could increase its presence in Colorado by the end of the year, including an expansion at the Southern Ute Indian Adult Detention Center in Ignacio. The plan would add 28 beds to the facility.

Colorado currently has one ICE facility — the GEO Group’s facility in Aurora. The reported plans would add nearly 200 beds to that facility, and ICE would operate new facilities in Walsenburg and Hudson. 

The Ignacio detention center housed two immigration detainees in 2007. According to the center’s website, the “C-Pod” unit is designated for immigration detainees and administrative segregation.

The Southern Ute Indian Tribe released a statement August 19 stating that “ the tribe was not notified nor consulted prior to the release of this information” and emphasized there have been “no discussions between Tribal Council and federal authorities on this matter.”

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, also said ICE did not contact the state. If the expansion moves forward, ICE would not need state approval.

Recently, a federal judge ordered the shutdown of a controversial ICE detention center in the Florida Everglades, known as “Alligator Alcatraz.” The ruling halts expansion of the facility and requires operations to cease within 60 days, with detainees transferred and temporary infrastructure such as fencing and lighting removed.