ICE freezes up under questioning

Immigration and Customs Enforcement refuses to deny that they are confining tubercular prisoners in close quarters at their rent-a-prison in Aurora, Colorado, and have deported at least one, to a place or places unknown.Pretty strange lede sentence, I know. I resorted to it because ICE refuses to talk to me, or answer my emails, as does the GEO Group, which runs ICE’s jam-packed 1,532-capacity immigration prison in a suburb of Denver, and so have three members of Congress.Here’s what we know, so far.“At least 12 people detained at a federal immigration jail in Colorado have contracted tuberculosis in recent days, according to testimony from inside the facility where dozens of others have reportedly been placed in quarantine,” The Guardian reported on July 14.ICE and the GEO Group refused to let Adams County health inspectors into the immigration prison, despite “a public health order requiring access and interviews of affected detainees,” the Denver Post reported, also on Bastille Day.The latest, and most thorough report of this public health problem — which could spread worldwide if ICE is allowed to deport people with tuberculosis — came from Colorado Public Radio reporter John Daley, on July 28.Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman said the city “may be prepared to go to court to force them (the GEO Group and ICE) to comply.”The federal Centers for Disease Control states on its website: “All correctional facilities must report suspected and confirmed cases of TB disease to the local or state TB program."Yet ICE and the GEO Group have refused to admit Adams County and state inspectors into the giant rent-a-prison — a $47 million annual contract — over $100 a day for each immigration prisoner.It’s clear, from reporting, that ICE has deported as least one man with tuberculosis from the GEO Group prison in Aurora, and that neither ICE nor the private prison will say Word One about it.So, since this is an opinion column, let me tell you my opinion. And I tell you truly, my friends, I would not have released this without even more research beyond the 18 potential “sources” I called, had they not all blown me off.I’m going with it because it’s timely. And might save lives.As I wrote this, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the preeminent expert on infectious disease, was subjected to withering, and dishonest, humiliation by U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, who accused Fauci of having caused the Covid pandemic by funding medical research in China.Well, Senator Paul, allow me to interject: What do you feel about ICE and GEO Group exporting tuberculosis around the world, to countries that are far less able than we are to deal with it?I called the supposedly honorable Senator Paul about this, and, as the Beatles said long ago, “(he) gave me no reply.”Here is a lightly edited letter I sent to members of Congress.Mr. xxxxx:I write … to inform you that ICE is deporting tubercular inmates — exporting tuberculosis — from its detention center in Aurora, Colo., run by the private prison company GEO Group.ICE and GEO Group have refused to let Colorado state and county health inspectors into the privately run prison, in defiance of state and federal laws. …According to credible news reports, more than a dozen inmates at the private immigration prison were diagnosed with TB. Dozens more allegedly were “isolated” because of exposure. Some, as I understand it, have already been deported.Why are we exporting tuberculosis to the world?Why are GEO Group and ICE allowed to do this?What does Robert Kennedy Jr. have to say about it?This is an issue of worldwide concern. … I have tried to contact ICE and GEO Group about this, with no luck.Could you give me a comment, soonest, preferably by email. I’d prefer to speak to a human. …In short, could you kindly ask for me:How many inmates have been diagnosed with TB at the Aurora, Colo., detention center?How many inmates have they been confined with?How many have been deported?What, if anything, do you plan to do about this?Thank you for your attention.RSKSubscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads