Colorado congressional members accuse ICE of trying to prevent oversight of detention facilities
By Shaun Boyd
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COLORADO (KCNC) — Democratic Rep. Jason Crow says he was first denied access to the immigration detention facility in Aurora, and now, Crow says he’s being denied basic information about who is being held there.
Crow and Colorado’s three other Democratic U.S. House members — Reps. Diana DeGette, Joe Neguse, and Brittany Pettersen — visited the ICE facility Monday after giving seven days’ notice under a federal policy they are suing to overturn.
Crow says he was unable to get an exact head count at the facility, let alone information on who’s being detained and whether they have criminal records. He was also unable to truly assess the conditions at the facility, he says, because the whole place was on lockdown for the entire visit.
Crow says he’s visited the Aurora facility 10 times in six years, but he says this visit was unlike any other.
“This has been the most difficult visit in terms of getting information, getting answers out of the facility and employees,” he said.
He says ICE is now requiring members of Congress to submit any questions they have through the agency’s headquarters in D.C., and anyone wanting to talk to a detainee must have a signed privacy release in advance.
“So, if I want to visit my constituents in this facility, then somehow, I have to get a privacy release to them through the mail or other means,” said DeGette.
She says she was able to see immigration rights activist Jeanette Vizguerra, but the rest of the delegation was allowed to visit only one other detainee.
The representatives say they have a duty to conduct oversight of federal operations, and ICE is making their job increasingly difficult. Last month, they were told they needed to give seven days’ notice before any visit, so they sued.
“If you have to give seven days’ notice, they clean up pretty good,” said DeGette.
Still, Pettersen says, what they did see was concerning, including a lack of access to legal resources: “There is a phone, but you have to pay 15 cents a minute in order to make the calls that you need. That is a huge barrier for people.”
In addition to Democrats, Republican Rep. Gabe Evans has also asked ICE for more information on those being detained.
Government data from June showed that about half of all detainees nationwide had been convicted or charged with crimes, while 70% of those in the Aurora detention facility had. Evans and his Democratic colleagues want to know the nature of the crimes.
Neguse says they will continue to push for more access and information.
“Above all else, transparency matters, oversight matters, accountability matters,” he said. “You certainly can expect the Democratic members of Colorado’s House delegation to continue to lean in on all fronts.”
As of Monday evening, a spokesperson for ICE had not yet responded to a request for comment from CBS News Colorado sent Monday morning.
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