As GEO Group Ignores State Health Order, Analysis Shows Trump’s Immigration Enforcement Agenda Is Costing Colorado Taxpayers Roughly $2,400 Per Person

New Video : Hickenlooper Calls Out The GEO Group For Ignoring State Health Order Hickenlooper: “The GEO Group ignored the state’s deadline to provide critical information about potential TB exposure… That’s unacceptable.” WASHINGTON – As the GEO Group ignored the deadline to comply with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s public health order, a recent analysis from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) detailed how President Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda is costing Colorado taxpayers to the tune of roughly $5.4 billion. According to the analysis, the average Colorado taxpayer is contributing roughly $2,400 to the administration’s mass deportation efforts. The study did not include what the State is spending responding to the Trump administration’s immigration policies, including countless hours public health officials have spent seeking answers about the confirmed tuberculosis case at the Aurora Detention Facility. “The GEO Group ignored the state’s deadline to provide critical information about potential TB exposure and other things. That’s unacceptable,” said Hickenlooper in a new video statement today. “Estimates show Colorado taxpayers are paying…$5.4 billion…roughly $2,400 per taxpayer for the administration’s detention and deportation efforts. Think about what that money could do if we had to spend on Colorado families: provide health care, put food on the table, pay rent, or make child care more affordable. We need an immigration system built on decency and the rule of law, and not one that wastes taxpayer dollars and jeopardizes public safety by creating a reign of terror. We’re going to keep demanding answers and holding ICE and GEO accountable.” Watch Senator Hickenlooper’s full video on X , Facebook, YouTube , and Instagram On Monday, Hickenlooper visited the ICE detention facility in Aurora where he criticized the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts and lack of transparency. EPI’s analysis estimated each state’s share of federal income taxes to calculate Colorado’s contribution. Below are estimates on how this $5.4 billion dollars could benefit Colorado instead of Trump’s mass deportation agenda: $1.52 billion could pay for a full decade of Medicaid coverage for the 23,126 Coloradans who are no longer covered by Medicaid compared to last year. 23,126 fewer Coloradans were enrolled in Medicaid as of April 2026 compared to April 2025. $6,590 is the average annual spending on Medicaid per enrollee in Colorado. $780 million could restore SNAP benefits for a decade for every Coloradan who left the food assistance program following the Trump and Washington Republicans’ cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill. 33,681 fewer Coloradans participated in the program between July 2025 and June 2026. Average yearly SNAP benefit per person is $2,316 . $1 billion could pay for one year of rent for about 52,800 Colorado households . The average monthly rent in Colorado is approximately $1,578. $2.1 billion could cover the average annual childcare cost for 55,508 Colorado families for a full year. The average annual childcare cost for families with two children in Colorado is $37,832 . Hickenlooper has been outspoken in the face of ICE’s lawlessness and demanded a top-to-bottom overhaul of the agency to stop ICE from terrorizing our communities. Hickenlooper also voted against the DHS funding bill because it failed to overhaul ICE. He has consistently pushed for more oversight and transparency for federal immigration enforcement efforts, and has worked to help families desperately searching for loved ones arrested by ICE. In January, Hickenlooper spoke on the Senate floor to denounce the horrifying killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, condemn the reports that families in Eagle County found “death cards” left in the cars of family members taken by ICE agents, and to demand the overhaul of ICE. He’s shown up at ICE facilities previously to conduct congressional oversight visits and raise concerns about ICE disregarding due process. He helped launch an investigation into ICE’s unlawful obstruction of congressional oversight and introduced bills to ban ICE from wearing masks, prevent immigration enforcement from targeting schools, hospitals, polling locations, and places of worship, and cut back the excessive funding that MAGA Republicans gave them. Following the shooting at the Aurora ICE facility by a GEO Group employee, Hickenlooper condemned the shooting and called for a thorough review of DHS policies to help prevent similar incidents. ###