Lawsuit alleges ICE failed to assess air, water, and infectious disease impacts of reopening long-vacant Hudson prison
HUDSON, Colo.— GreenLatinos and the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition filed a lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado challenging U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s decision to open and operate the Big Horn facility in Hudson, Colorado as a detention center without first conducting the environmental review required by the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA.
The former Hudson Correctional Facility has been vacant since about 2013, according to the complaint. GEO Group reported in its August disclosure that it entered into a five-year contract with ICE to reopen the facility as a federal immigration detention center.
“No community should be treated as expendable for the purpose of expanding ICE’s detention system,” said Mark Magaña, GreenLatinos’ Founding President and CEO. “Our commitment to environmental justice extends to the people living near this facility as well as to those who would be confined inside it. We oppose any expansion that threatens the health and human dignity of those held, and the basic environmental protections of the surrounding community.”
The GEO Group posted dozens of job openings, moving forward with plans to reopen the facility while ignoring federal regulations. “Immigration detention centers harm the health and well-being of entire communities,” said Gladis Ibarra, Co- Executive Director, Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition. “The impact is felt not only by those detained in deplorable and inhumane conditions, but also by the families, neighbors, and community members who live in the same zip code and must bear the environmental consequences of having a detention center in their community.”
Hudson lies within the Denver Metro/North Front Range region, which does not meet federal ozone standards. The complaint alleges that equipment at the facility, detainee transportation, staff travel, and supply deliveries would add ozone-forming emissions and further pollute the region.
The complaint also raises concerns about increased demand on Hudson’s water supply and wastewater treatment systems. It cites a prior EPA enforcement action involving wastewater discharges from the same correctional facility and town planning documents identifying treatment-capacity and industrial pretreatment needs. Water demand from the facility would also increase the use of water imported from the Colorado River through the Colorado–Big Thompson Project, according to the complaint.
Traffic from facility operations could increase noise and create road-safety and emergency-response concerns. The complaint also identifies potential effects on wildlife from air and water pollution, vehicle traffic and nighttime security lighting.
“NEPA requires federal agencies to review the environmental effects of covered actions before moving forward,” said Jessica Herrera, GreenLatinos’ In-House Counsel. “Our complaint alleges that ICE prepared neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement for the Big Horn facility and did not invoke a valid categorical exclusion. We are seeking declaratory relief and an injunction to halt pre-construction activities and construction at Big Horn and prevent the facility from operating unless and until ICE complies with NEPA.”
The complaint highlights that proceeding without environmental review deprived residents and local officials of information about the project’s expected impacts and opportunities to participate in federal decision-making.
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About GreenLatinos
(NOTE: GreenLatinos is ONE WORD) GreenLatinos convenes an active comunidad of environmental, conservation, and climate justice leaders rooted in the power and wisdom of our culture, united to uplift our priorities, and driven to secure our political, economic, cultural, and environmental liberation.
About CIRC
Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition is a statewide organization working to improve the lives of immigrants and refugees by making Colorado a more welcoming state.
