By Sara Wilson, Colorado Newsline
Posted August 14, 2025
Colorado’s four Democratic U.S. House members visited an immigration detention center in Aurora on Monday morning and said many of their questions to facility staff went unanswered, a departure from previous tours of the site.
“This has been the most difficult visit in terms of getting information, getting answers out of the facility and out of the employees and being obstructed from conducting a full oversight that I’ve had in over six years,” U.S. Rep. Jason Crow, who represents Aurora in Congress, told reporters following the visit.
“Transparency and oversight matter a lot, and we will not bow down from our constitutional obligation to do that duty,” he said.
It was the 10th time Crow has visited the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility since 2019.
Crow attempted to visit the facility in July but was denied entry, prompting a lawsuit brought by Crow, Rep. Joe Neguse of Lafayette and other members of Congress over a new administration policy that requires at least a week’s notice to conduct an oversight visit to Department of Homeland Security facilities.
This has been the most difficult visit in terms of getting information, getting answers out of the facility and out of the employees and being obstructed from conducting a full oversight that I’ve had in over six years.”
U.S. Rep. Jason Crow
Federal law gives members of Congress the authority to conduct unannounced oversight visits of immigration detention facilities. The group of lawmakers gave the facility notice that they would visit following Crow’s unsuccessful trip last month.
“I’ve been in a lot of correctional facilities in my life, and if you have to give seven days’ notice, they clean up pretty good,” U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, a Denver Democrat, said. “We were told that the people in there were told to clean up and to spiff up and to make things look good. I’d like to see what happens normally in that facility.”
Crow and DeGette, alongside Neguse and Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Jefferson County, toured the detention center but said it was on lockdown for a population count while they were inside. They said many of their questions, including about the percentage of the detained population with criminal convictions, went unanswered. They also noticed that detailed information about detainees’ legal rights were no longer displayed in spots they’d previously occupied, but the lawmakers did see posted information that “extol the values of self deportation,” according to Pettersen.
DeGette said she was able to speak with Jeanette Vizguerra, a prominent immigrant rights activist who has been detained at the facility since March and is the plaintiff in a lawsuit that challenges her detention. DeGette handed Vizguerra a physical copy of federal legislation she is running to give Vizguerra lawful residency in the country.
“She told me she is not going to stop fighting for immigrants’ rights, and so we’re going to keep up our oversight here,” DeGette said.
Another new policy implemented by DHS, DeGette said, requires a signed privacy notice before a member of Congress can meet with a detained constituent.
“It’s just another attempt to stop people from visiting their constituents,” she said.
ICE did not immediately return an email about that policy or about the Monday visit from the Democratic congressional delegation.
The Aurora facility, privately run by the GEO Group for ICE, is the only DHS immigration detention facility in Colorado. Documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union show that the federal government is eyeing at least six locations in the state for additional facilities.
Sara Wilson is a Reporter for Colorado Newsline. This article is republished from Colorado Newsline under a Creative Commons license. Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
- Colorado Democrats Tour ICE Detention Center After Previous Denial of Entry - August 14, 2025
- U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez Proposes Oil and Gas Companies Pay for Employees’ Health Care Costs - August 14, 2025
- Honoring Legacy and Resilience: Eastside Family Reunion at Mestizo Curtis Park Brings Community Together - August 14, 2025
