AURORA, CO – Protesters in Aurora, Colorado gathered outside of an ICE detention facility operated by GEO Group on Sunday morning, July 19. They rallied to raise a number of demands regarding conditions in the detention center, the recent ICE murders of Joan Sebastian-Guerrero and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, and acts of repression against anti-ICE protesters Including Nadia Topete and 21-year-old Emma Landis, who was shot by a GEO Group employee after attending a protest outside the facility earlier in the week. Over 80 people attended the event where they heard speakers from various movements in the city and participated in chants against ICE’s continued attacks on their communities.

“We are gathered here today to demand justice for all victims of ICE’s violent terror across America,” said Miles Thompson, an emcee for the event and chair of the Denver-Aurora Community Action Committee (DACAC). “We’re also here to say that protesting is not a crime! Hands off Nadia Topete!” DACAC called this event in conjunction with Aurora Unidos CSO as part of a national week of action for Nadia Topete called by the Legalization For All Network.

Topete, an immigrants rights activist in Los Angeles, has been a target of FBI repression in recent weeks. In addition to ending the harassment against Topete and her fellow activists, organizers across the country have used this week of action to call for justice in the cases of Joan Sebastian-Guerrero and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo who were murdered by ICE agents during separate incidents in the last month. The event was supported by other local organizations, including the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

The Aurora ICE detention center, specifically, has made national news twice this week. The first was on July 16, when the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) announced that it had confirmed at least one case of tuberculosis inside the facility. While GEO Group denies any tuberculosis, community members detained inside claim at least a dozen cases have been identified. Tuberculosis is a preventable and treatable lung infection that can be contagious and deadly if not properly handled. In a facility already notorious for medical neglect, the community is concerned for the safety of those inside.

Yoselin Corrales, a Honduran immigrant and organizer with Aurora Unidos CSO said, “Our group has been working with immigrants inside to help document medical neglect, guard mistreatment, food insecurity, and the abuse of detention center staff for over a year now. Frankly, it was only a matter of time before something happened like what we’re seeing now.”

GEO Group, the private prison corporation that operates the Aurora ICE detention facility, was given until Friday, July 17 to submit to CDPHE inspection and turn over medical records to the state regarding tuberculosis. As of the writing of this article, GEO Group is completely refusing to comply with this investigation. Just last week, this for-profit corporation was awarded a half-billion dollar contract to open a new ICE detention center in rural Hudson, Colorado. This facility would almost double the number of people ICE could detain in the state and reduce visibility for these detentions by moving them far outside of the urban areas where Coloradans mostly live.

The news of the potential tuberculosis outbreak led to multiple protests against ICE and GEO Group this week but one, in particular, resulted in another national headline.

On Thursday, July 16, after a protest disbanded, a GEO group employee shot a woman in the foot while she was leaving the area. Emma Landis, the woman who was shot, was able to attend Sunday’s event where she expressed gratitude for her fellow activists and solidarity with those detained inside the facility. “It’s really nice to see my community come together in support of this and all I can say is ‘let’s keep doing this!’” She added, “ I don’t want to be a trend, I want to be an advocate for these people because they don’t deserve this at all. Nobody deserves this at all.”

The call to continue to fight and organize was common among all of the people who spoke. “We’re not here to write a strongly-worded letter or ask you to send an email,” proclaimed Corrales, “we’re here to commit to continuing to show up until the people inside these walls are free, and those who have contributed to this violent system are punished! Don’t do the enemy’s work for them and back down before the battle, join an organization and become part of a fighting force!”

#AuroraCO #CO #ImmigrantRights #ICE #DetentionCenter

Portland, OR – On July 10, the city of Portland dismissed an appeal by Portland ICE facility landlord Stuart Lindquist to overturn land use violations issued in September 2025, following months of public pressure by immigrant rights activists.

This latest victory for the immigrant rights movement follows a mass mobilization to a court hearing on the same day, where Multnomah County judge Steffan Alexander ruled the enforcement process could move forward following another legal challenge by Lindquist.

The ICE facility has been embroiled in a convoluted back-and-forth legal battle over the past year since an initial land use violation was issued, for holding detainees past a 12-hour limit and boarding up windows. Activists placed pressure on the city to move forward with not only enforcement but to revoke the permit for the Portland ICE facility entirely. In response, the city dragged its feet, and the landlord was granted multiple appeals in different jurisdictions regarding the same case.

After a year of voluntary delays of enforcement by the city, a hearings officer was set to give a ruling on an appeal filed by Lindquist on June 5. However, Lindquist then appealed to Multnomah County to delay this process further, arguing the hearings officer in Portland was biased. A Multnomah County judge sided with Lindquist and allowed a temporary stay on this ruling until a later court date in August 2026.

The city of Portland filed a motion to dismiss this stay, which was heard in court on July 10. Activists with PDXCD launched into motion and led an email and call-in campaign to the judge overseeing the July 10 hearing, sending hundreds of emails, holding a press conference outside the hearing with multiple news outlets, and mobilizing so many people to the hearing that the court room was filled and people were forced into overflow rooms.

The judge acknowledged the public pressure, stating he received many emails regarding this case. He then ruled against Lindquist and removed the stay. Almost immediately after, the city of Portland rejected Lindquist’s appeal.

The battle is not over yet. On August 14, Lindquist’s motion to dismiss the land use violation entirely will head to Multnomah County court once again. His argument rests on an accusation that the city of Portland is biased against the ICE facility.

Activists find this argument to be ludicrous, and instead argue the city has shown preference to the ICE facility over the greater Portland community.

“Over and over, the city stalled enforcing obvious violations by the ICE facility of both city code and human rights,” said activist Bailey Ullom, “An immigrant was held for 47 days in that building, an entire neighborhood was gassed, and yet a year later, it is still allowed to operate. It is clear the city has a bias towards wealthy developers and landlords, and the community is expected to just put up with it.”

Lindquist’s lawyer argued during the July 10 hearing that, if the land use violation was upheld, the Portland City Council would immediately revoke the permit, but even the most “progressive” city councilors have stated their opposition to revoking the permit. One councilor, Angelita Morillo, who identifies as a democratic socialist, went so far as to create a website to convince the people of Portland that the council should not revoke the permit.

Now that the land-use violation is upheld, the city can move forward with fining the landlord for $934 a month. Activists say this is not enough and demand the city moves forward with the process to revoke the permit for the facility entirely.

Lindquist’s attorney agreed the fine was not an issue for the ICE facility, stating during the hearing that “the $934 is not the problem.”

“The real problem for the ICE facility is if we get it shut down,” said PDXCD member Beatriz Ibarra, “that’s why Lindquist is fighting so hard to stall this in court, and why the city is giving him so many allowances. The city also does not want to shut down the facility.”

PDXCD vows to continue putting pressure on the city. They will be continuing with their email campaign for Lindquist's motion on August 14 to be struck down, and also for the Portland Permitting and Development Bureau to begin the reconsideration process to revoke the permit.

#PortlandOR #OR #ImmigrantRights #ICE #DetentionCenter

Dublin, CA – On June 8, at around 5 p.m., over 100 participants of the three-day “Caminata for Immigrant Rights” arrived at the corner of Arnold Road and Gleason Drive, next to FCI Dublin, a closed federal women’s prison that ICE plans to reopen as an immigrant detention center.

“This action shows just how united the Bay Area is against ICE. Across all three days, covering dozens of miles, we received only honks of support and cheers from folks. No one wants Trump’s ICE thugs here. Those who joined us, including families with young children, grandmothers, immigrants and allies from Santa Rosa to Napa to San Francisco and beyond, demonstrate how far people are willing to go to oppose new detention centers in the Bay,” said Danny Celaya from CSO Oakland.

Over three days, from Saturday, June 6, at Napa High School to Monday, June 8, in Dublin, marchers covered nearly 70 miles.

“As a member of the vehicle support team, this action was inspiring. People are committed to stopping Trump’s agenda and fighting ICE. Everyday working-class people organized this massive action, that quite literally united forces from every corner of the Bay to collectively say ‘Hell no!’ to the proposed detention centers. This demonstrates what we can achieve through organizing, so let’s be clear, we are going to win! Down with immigrant detention centers! Power to the people’s movements!” said Brandon Cavins from the Oakland chapter of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

The march made a powerful impact, garnering press coverage and over 15 news articles in both Spanish and English. It made the front page of both the East Bay Times and Mercury News, the largest newspapers in both East Bay and South Bay, respectively.

The four key demands were legalization for all; ICE out of the Bay; no to immigrant detention centers in Dublin, Alcatraz and Gilroy, and stop deportations and repression.

Peyton Leone, representing Centro del Pueblo in Humboldt County, said, “We hear stories of people being sent to very faraway places when they are detained, and to hear that a new detention center could be opened closer to where I live; that’s something that I would show up every day, any time to protest. That’s why I’m here joining the caminata for all three days.”

Through the organizers’ efforts, families and participants of all ages were able to join as organizers secured lodging, three meals a day, and portable restrooms transported via a truck bed along every mile of the route. Additionally, a team of over 20 medics tended to the walkers, and more than 40 safety volunteers kept people safe across the four counties the march traversed: Napa, Sonoma, Contra Costa, and Alameda.

Over 40 organizations took part in this three-day action including Raizes Collective, Almas Libres, Sonoma County Sanctuary Coalition, CSO North Bay, CSO Oakland, Mujeres Unidas y Activas, Human Agenda, National TPS Alliance, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, American Indian Movement, CodePink Sonoma County, North Bay Jobs with Justice, North Bay Organizing Project, Bay Resistance, Tsuru for Solidarity, Services, Immigrant Rights & Education Network (SIREN), the ICE out of Dublin Coalition, and dozens more.

#DublinCA #CA #OaklandCA #ImmigrantRights #ICE #DetentionCenter #CSONorthBay #CSOOakland #Featured

Adelanto, CA – On Saturday, June 13, immigrant rights organizations from around Southern California held a caravan and rally outside of the Adelanto Detention Center. The rally was led by Centro CSO, alongside CSO Orange County, NELA for Democracy, Defend Migrant Alliance – SOCAL, and No Camps California. The rally took place as part of the Legalization for All Network’s Weekend of Action with the main demand being to shut down all detention centers.

For weeks, detained immigrants have carried out hunger strikes at the Adelanto Detention Center in Adelanto, California and the Delaney Hall Detention Center in New Jersey. To show their solidarity, dozens of protesters outside the Adelanto Detention Center waved signs, and chanted “Free them all!” The hunger strikes were called by immigrants due to the lack of medical treatment and the inhumane treatment within the centers.

Verita Topete, co-chair of Centro CSO’s immigration committee, said, “Six years ago, I stood outside the Adelanto protesting while my father was detained inside. A hunger strike was happening at the time as people risked everything in order to demand dignity, safety and humane treatment. Six years later, history is repeating itself. We are back here in solidarity with the hunger strikers at Adelanto and Delaney Hall in New Jersey.”

The protesters hung posters of detainees who have died while in ICE custody, with several of those lives being taken inside the Adelanto Detention Center. Speakers emphasized just how inhumane the conditions are, and the lack of medical treatment detainees face.

Centro CSO in particular uplifted their campaign to free Alex Hernandez who has been wrongfully detained in Adelanto for months. CSO has led call-in days and other actions to demand Hernandez be freed and reunited with his family.

Rain Mendoza from CSO Orange County stated, “It's important to show solidarity with the courageous striking detainees and all immigrant detainees in detention centers. The treatment they are facing inside the detention centers is absolutely unacceptable. People are dying inside! We demand all detention centers be shut down. Free our people now”

If you would like to join the struggle to defend immigrant rights in Los Angeles and win Legalization for All, you can follow @CentroCSO on Instagram to find out about upcoming meetings and actions.

#LosAngelesCA #CA #CentroCSO #ImmigrantRights #DetentionCenter #Adelanto