Who is the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition?

Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

If you would like to be involved please go to our website and become a member.


Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Private Prison To Expand In Aurora

AURORA — A privately run detention center for immigrants will be allowed to more than triple in size after Aurora City Council members disappointed opponents of the facility by deciding they didn't need to vote on the expansion plan after all.

A public hearing and vote were scheduled for the council meeting Monday. But Anthony Paradiso, owner of Camp Bow Wow, which is near the current detention center at Peoria Street and East 30th Avenue, pulled his appeal of the expansion late last week.

That meant the council could let stand the planning commission's previous approval of it.

Now the Florida-based GEO Group, which runs the facility under contract with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, can continue its expansion from a 400-bed facility to a 1,500-bed center. That would make it the second-largest such facility in the country. It is expected to cost $72 million and be completed by the end of next year.

Several dozen opponents of the plan, led by the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, protested outside the Aurora Municipal Center before the meeting. They carried signs and chanted "GEO Group, shame on you. Detainees are people, too."


The Denver Post

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

whats the purpose of providing housing, (a bed) for illegals. Use the money (72000000.00) to deport illegals. Go to www.wetbacks.com, and learn how President Isenhower handled illegals back in 1954.djw

Anonymous said...

djw
It provides jobs to the massive prison industrial complex of Colorado, also political contributions by the private prison industry.

In 1954 we had a program to bring illegals to work the fields, and to legally work, and return legally to Mexico. Now they are the hostages of the politicians.

To get into a school, you had to provide your birth certificate. To get a job, you had to provide your social security number. None of those laws are being enforced by the schools or the employers. If you do not employ or school them, they will go back. mpc