The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Denver field office is looking to add capacity to hold nearly 1,000 more detainees in Colorado or Wyoming.
ICE wants to add 850 to 950 beds within a two-hour drive of its Denver field office or its 10 sub-offices in Colorado or Wyoming, according to a “request for information” the agency published online on Feb. 14.
The federal immigration agency is seeking “available detention facilities for single adult populations (male and female)” with segregation units, infirmaries and local access to hospital care. The facility or facilities should be able to house low-, medium- and high-security “adult noncitizens,” according to the document.
“Dedicated facilities solely for ICE use are preferred; however, ICE will consider detention facilities housing other detained populations if separation from ICE detainees is maintained,” the request for information states.
Denver ICE spokesman Steve Kotecki said in a statement Tuesday that the agency is “exploring all options to meet its current and future detention requirements.”
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s enhanced enforcement operations and routine daily operations have resulted in a significant number of arrests of criminal aliens that require greater detention capacity,” he said.
The request for information is meant to “obtain market information for planning purposes and to determine appropriate strategies to meet the agency’s requirements,” and is not a solicitation for bids or proposals, according to the document. The deadline to submit information was Feb. 15.
ICE currently uses a processing center that can hold 1,532 people in Aurora that is run by The GEO Group, a private contractor.
President Donald Trump’s administration has been making moves to expand ICE’s detention capacity across the country.
On Feb. 26, the agency said it would reopen a facility in New Jersey.
“This detention center is the first to open under the new administration,” former acting ICE Director Caleb Vitello said in a statement. “The location near an international airport streamlines logistics, and helps facilitate the timely processing of individuals in our custody as we pursue President Trump’s mandate to arrest, detain and remove illegal aliens from our communities.”
The next day, CoreCivic Inc. — a detention management company contracted by federal and state departments — announced additional capacity for up to 784 ICE detainees across three of its existing correctional and detention facilities in Ohio, Nevada and Oklahoma. It also permitted the use of up to 252 beds by ICE at its facility in Mississippi.
“We are entering a period where our government partners, particularly our federal government partners, are expected to have increased demand,” CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger said in a statement. “We anticipate additional contracting activity that will help satisfy their growing needs.”
And, as of last month, military sites — including Fort Bliss in Texas and Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora — were being eyed as locations to hold detained migrants, according to the The New York Times.
Buckley officials have directed inquiries about potential holding facilities for detained immigrants to ICE. An agency spokesperson hasn’t responded to questions about the use of Buckley as a detention facility for migrants.
Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.
