A private prison group that runs Colorado’s only immigration detention facility is suing the state over a new law that would require an increase of health and safety inspections and procedures.

The lawsuit was initiated in June by the private for-profit prison company, GEO Group, who operates worldwide and owns or manages at least 50 facilities in the United States. The suit lists the Colorado Attorney General, executive members of the state’s Department of Public Health and Environment and an Adams County Health Department executive as the defendants.

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Last Friday, GEO attorney Fred Yarger took the stand in the Denver district court and argued the company’s case in front of a federal judge.

The law in question is House Bill 26-1276 and was sponsored by four Democratic legislators, and Governor Jared Polis signed it into law earlier this year. It goes into effect on August 12.

Polis vetoed the only other immigration-related bill in June, effectively making HB 26-1276 the only successful immigration bill in the 2026 legislative session to be passed and signed into law.

GEO is seeking a preliminary injunction from a judge to block the law's implementation, with their attorney Fred Yarger arguing this bill is the state’s attempt to “directly and specifically regulate, through targeted legislation, a single facility in the state.”

Legislators were able to craft the bill in a way that does not directly target federal immigration centers, but rather targets “a facility that houses or detains individuals who are noncitizens for purposes of civil immigration proceedings.” The bill’s language previously stated “any facility that houses or detains individuals,” but the amended version changed it to singular tense–directly targeting the one immigration detention facility located in Aurora, Colo.

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U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Domenico told Yarger on Friday’s hearing that he will issue a decision as to if the requirements of the bill should be halted on a later date.

The main addition of the bill is that it sets a new yearly minimum of health and safety inspections and requires GEO to pay for these inspections. It gives the state’s attorney general’s office the authority to hold GEO civilly liable for noncompliance, subjecting them to hefty fees if they fail to comply.

It was noted in the hearing that GEO has complied with health and safety inspections in years prior. Since they are a private for-profit company, they are not exempt from local or state health inspections.

Yarger argued that these new regulations create a potential burden on already existing public health inspection laws. He claimed that since the state cannot regulate ICE enforcement or federal immigration matters, the state is instead seeking a different avenue in an attempt to regulate state-side immigration operations.

He further added that the provisions in this bill directly conflict with GEO’s contract with ICE. For example, their federal contract requires all medical workers, including mental health professionals, to be available at all times–but new state law requires them to be physically present on-site at all times. Because of these different requirements, if GEO complies with state law it would have to change how they fulfill the duties listed in their federal contract.

Another point of contention within the bill is that the new state law conflicts with who is allowed access into the facility. Under the current contract and operating framework, ICE–not the state–decides who gets access to the facility. If state inspectors wish to enter, GEO is required to follow whatever ICE decides.

Judge Domenico directly pushed back on this claim, questioning why he should assume the contractual provisions with the federal government excludes GEO from complying with state law. In other words, he assumed it would be reasonable to conclude that ICE’s contract includes following state and local laws unless it explicitly stated otherwise.

Lawrence Pacheco, the Colorado Attorney General’s Chief Communication Officer, referred The Center Square to their press release from June that stated “[m]eeting basic health and safety requirements and being transparent about facility conditions are necessary for the humane treatment of immigrants who are going through civil immigration proceedings. We’re committed to defending state law and protecting the safety of immigrants.”

GEO Group did not respond to The Center Square’s request for an interview.

The filing of this lawsuit also coincides with a tuberculosis case that came out of the Aurora detention center on June 25, with public health agencies responding to the report in July.

Initially, the Adams County Health Department was denied access to the facility when the report first came out. At the time, GEO was unable to provide the necessary information related to the case when the department requested it. The county then issued a public health order which required compliance from GEO Group.

In response to this, Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman told council members during a study session that “[i]t’s in our interest to protect the public health of our community to be able to merely make a statement that requests or demands that [The GEO Group] comply on behalf of our residents.” He further added that this was merely a matter of public health at question.

The Adams County Health Department did not respond to The Center Square’s request for comment on GEO’s lawsuit.