Colorado sues to stop new immigration detention center from opening in Hudson
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit trying to block an immigration detention center from opening in Hudson, saying the federal government failed to study the environmental impacts of reopening a former private prison to hold people arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The lawsuit names the Department of Homeland Security, ICE and its leaders as defendants. It asks a judge to throw out the five-year, $528.7 million contract the government signed with the GEO Group to operate the nearly 1,200-bed facility as the Big Horn immigration detention center in the town about 30 miles northeast of Denver along Interstate 76. It seeks to stop any detention center from opening until the federal government conducts an environmental review that Weiser says is required under National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA.
“This facility has been shuttered for quite some time. It can’t just be picked up and put into use without going through the required reviews. They’re there for a reason,” Weiser said during a news conference.
He believes the center could be on track to open by the end of the year.
Homeland Security, ICE and GEO didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Two other lawsuits already filed against Hudson center
It’s the third lawsuit to challenge the planned facility since GEO announced the contract in July. Earlier this month, Green Latinos and the Colorado Immigration Rights Coalition also filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the federal agencies failed to conduct an environmental review under NEPA.
In July, an immigrant rights group, Together Colorado, filed a lawsuit in state court. It claims the property isn’t zoned for a detention center and accuses Hudson of ignoring its own land use code by allowing GEO to open the facility without a special permit.
Weiser’s lawsuit says the state believes that renovations are currently underway at the former prison, which closed in 2013 after holding a maximum of 871 inmates from Alaska. The facility could impact wildlife in the area, including deer and the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse, it said. The state also expects the facility to put additional burdens on public services and infrastructure, including Hudson’s water system. The lawsuit noted that the town, which has a population of about 1,600, believes it will need to add an extra well to its water system to accommodate the detention facility.
Hudson is not part of the lawsuit and isn’t taking a side in the legal fight.
Town Manager Bryce Lange declined to comment on the state’s lawsuit. However, he said the town is confident its water and wastewater utilities would be able to serve existing and future demands.
