Tuberculosis outbreak at Colorado ICE jail sickens at least 12 detainees

A person detained at the Aurora ICE processing center puts their hands together in a praying motion during a Passover Grief Vigil on 8 April 2026 in Aurora, Colorado. Photograph: Timothy Hurst/Denver Post/Getty Images View image in fullscreen A person detained at the Aurora ICE processing center puts their hands together in a praying motion during a Passover Grief Vigil on 8 April 2026 in Aurora, Colorado. Photograph: Timothy Hurst/Denver Post/Getty Images Tuberculosis outbreak at Colorado ICE jail sickens at least 12 detainees The reported infections are the latest in a series of health concerns at the federal immigration jail in Aurora 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. Those affected by the outbreak are also being made to endure their isolation without air conditioning, one detainee who has been at the facility in Aurora since December told the Guardian, through his partner, in a telephone call on Monday afternoon. Neither the Department of Homeland Security, nor the Geo Group , the Florida-based private company that operates the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing center under government contract, responded to a request for comment or confirmation. But the Mexican detainee in his 30s, whose name the Guardian is not publishing for fear of possible retribution by guards, gave a detailed account of developments inside the troubled center over the past few days, which have included the mass testing of everyone within one of the center’s so-called pods. The person said that all 88 people he is detained with received testing on Saturday, with 12 positive cases coming back, up from a single case three days earlier. Instead of separating those infected, he said, guards kept them together with those who were not sick, and the entire group was told they must stay in quarantine for at least a week. To make matters worse, the detainee said, the air conditioning in the pod broke down on Sunday, and staff distributed electric fans. On Monday afternoon, Aurora was under a heat advisory with the outside air temperature at 96F (36C). It is not known how many people are incarcerated at the center, which has a published capacity of 1,532 , and the person said he was unaware if any of the other pods of detainees had been tested or returned any positive results. He described the situation inside as “uncomfortable”, but said he had seen some of his fellow detainees receiving medication in the mornings and afternoons. His long-term partner, a US citizen who lives in south Florida, whose identity the Guardian is also withholding, said the apparently worsening conditions at the facility were causing anxiety. Tuberculosis is a serious bacterial infection that in its active form can be transmitted in the air, and can prove fatal if left untreated. “I don’t know