Violence Is Not Public Safety: Why We Fight to Abolish ICE
In one week, ICE agents killed two fathers. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, was murdered on his way to work. Joan Sebastian Guerrero, 26, was murdered in front of his family. Nationally, at least 52 people have died in ICE custody and at least 9 more have been killed in enforcement operations since January 2025 — at least 60 deaths total, the highest toll in decades.
These are not isolated incidents. They are the predictable outcome of an institution built on profit, unaccountable power, and racism.
This Is Not About “Bad Apples”
Every time an agency like ICE is caught in violence, the same reform proposals surface: more training, body cameras, unmasking agents, stronger oversight boards. We understand why people reach for these solutions. But we want to be direct about where we stand: reform cannot undo what has already been done, and it cannot prevent what comes next.
No amount of training changes an agency that recruits from the bottom of the barrel for the work it does. No body camera stops a bullet, and no camera has ever, on its own, produced accountability. No policy that removes a mask addresses the fact that the violence isn’t hidden — it’s sanctioned. The problem was never a lack of visibility or a lack of procedure. The problem is the institution itself.
ICE is a for-profit system. Private prison corporations like GEO Group are paid by the federal government to cage human beings, and the more people caged, the more money made. GEO Group was just awarded a $528.7 million contract to reactivate the Big Horn Detention Facility in Hudson, Colorado. That is not a coincidence of policy — it is the business model working exactly as designed. A system that profits from detention has no incentive to detain fewer people, and no incentive to treat the people it detains with dignity.
This is also a racist system. The communities targeted, detained, and killed by immigration enforcement are overwhelmingly Black, Brown, and immigrant communities. State-sanctioned violence against these communities is not the result of a broken system, it is the system functioning as intended.
That is why Denver Justice Project advocates for abolition, not reform. Not because we don’t care about the details of policy, but because we do — and the details keep leading us to the same conclusion. You cannot reform your way out of an institution whose foundation is profit, violence, and control.
What’s Happening Inside GEO Aurora Right Now
We don’t have to look far for proof. The GEO detention center in Aurora is currently working to cover up a tuberculosis outbreak, and people who are sick are being held in solitary confinement instead of receiving care. The facility has gone without power for days at a time over the past several weeks — no air conditioning, with temperatures topping 100 degrees. Detainees are reporting medical neglect, a lack of food and nutrition, and forced labor inside the facility.
This is what “detention” looks like under a for-profit model: cutting corners on care, hiding outbreaks instead of treating them, and extracting labor from the people it holds. It is not a system that can be fixed with better oversight, it is a system where these conditions are the cost of doing business. That is why we 100% oppose expanding detention capacity in Colorado, including GEO’s push to reactivate the Big Horn facility in Hudson. More beds means more profit and more people exposed to these same conditions, not fewer.
What’s Happening Right Now
This isn’t abstract. It’s happening in our state, this month.
Wednesday, July 15 — Multispiritual Solidarity Vigil for Detained Immigrants Spiritual and faith communities, and the wider community, are invited to gather at the GEO ICE Detention Center (3130 Oakland St, Aurora) at 6:00 PM for collective singing, prayer, and reflection led by Colorado Clergy Alliance. All are welcome.
Saturday, July 18 — Emergency Protest: Stop ICE Terror, Justice for Lorenzo & Joan Join us at La Raza Park in Denver at 7:30 PM as we demand justice for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Joan Sebastian Guerrero, and accountability for the agents responsible for their deaths.
Monday, July 20 — ICE Out: Shutdown GEO A rally, die-in, press conference, and petition delivery at the ICE Field Office (12445 E. Caley Avenue, Centennial) starting at 8:00 AM.
Wednesday, July 22 — MUSIC MELTS ICE A benefit concert featuring Elliott Wachs & Commonality, Dunk Maxwell, live painting by DJ Bugs Honey, and a Denver Justice Project Know Your Rights training. 21+. Pay what you can — proceeds benefit the Twin Cities ICE Relief Fund.
Ongoing — Community Call to Action in Hudson, CO Activists are organizing against the reactivation of the Big Horn Detention Facility. Community members can sign the petition, join the town council meeting agenda push for a formal public vote, and request that town leadership meet with Towards Justice to discuss legal options to block the facility from opening. Details and QR codes for the petition, meeting agenda, and the town’s public stance are in our latest newsletter and social media posts.
No Cop, No Agent, No Government Employee Should Be Above the Law
Nobody should live in fear of being murdered by government agents. Our communities deserve to live with dignity, not under the threat of a system that profits from their detention and treats their lives as disposable.
We know grief and outrage can feel like they have nowhere to go. We’re asking you to put them here: with us, in community, taking action together.
Get Involved
- Organize — bring your neighbors, your faith community, your coworkers into this work.
- Mobilize — show up to a vigil, a rally, or a town meeting this month.
- Get trained — Know Your Rights and Confirmer trainings are ongoing; learn how to protect yourself and your neighbors before a crisis hits.
- Take action — sign the petition, contact town leadership, spread the word.
Follow @denverjusticeproject for updates and to find a training or event near you.
Violence is not public safety. Abolish ICE.
