Category Archives: Issues

November 12, 2019 DENVER – The ACLU of Colorado filed a lawsuit today against the GEO Group, Inc., for the wrongful death of Kamyar Samimi. Mr. Samimi, a Legal Permanent Resident, died in December 2017, after two weeks in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody at the Aurora Contract Detention Facility (ACDF), a for-profit detention center operated by GEO. The ACLU of Colorado’s investigation, which included a lawsuit for records related to Mr. Samimi’s death, revealed a.... | Read More

DENVER – The City of Greeley has repealed an ordinance that banned pedestrians from being present on traffic medians “for longer than necessary to cross the street” following a lawsuit by ACLU of Colorado. In the lawsuit filed last month, ACLU lawyers asserted that the “median ban” violated the free speech rights of those engaging in expressive conduct on traffic medians, including individuals soliciting for charity.  “Greeley adopted the median ban to target people experiencing poverty,.... | Read More

DENVER – The American Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado announced a settlement this morning on behalf of Dashir Moore, a transgender man who was denied healthcare coverage for treatment for gender dysphoria by his former employer. Mr. Moore filed a charge of discrimination against the company because its health care plan categorically excluded coverage for anything related to gender transition, leaving Mr. Moore on the hook for a $30,000 surgery. The company.... | Read More

On December 2, Kamyar Samimi died an agonizing death in ICE custody at the immigration detention facility in Aurora, Colorado, operated by the GEO Group, a for-profit prison corporation. Yesterday, after a long and thorough investigation, ACLU of Colorado released our report, Cashing in on Cruelty: Stories of death, abuse and neglect at the GEO immigration detention facility in Aurora, which not only tells Samimi’s story, but also reveals many other stories of abuse, neglect and inadequate medical.... | Read More

DENVER – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers operate without meaningful accountability or oversight. One facility in particular — the Aurora Contract Detention Facility (ACDF), operated by the for-profit prison company, The GEO Group, Inc. — violates the basic human rights of its mainly asylum-seeking detainees through medical neglect and abuse, which has led to at least two deaths, according to a report released today by the ACLU of Colorado. Cashing in.... | Read More

DENVER – In response to an ACLU of Colorado lawsuit filed this morning in federal court, the City of Greeley has agreed to immediately stop enforcing its ordinance that bans pedestrians from being present on traffic medians “for longer than necessary to cross the street.” The lawsuit asserts that the “Median Ban” violates the free speech rights of people who want to stand on medians to engage in expressive conduct, including solicitation of charity. According to the lawsuit, Greeley.... | Read More

DENVER – ACLU of Colorado announced a settlement today on behalf of Anne Landman, a constituent who was blocked in 2017 from Senator Ray Scott’s official social media accounts after she was publicly critical of several of his policy positions. As a result of the lawsuit, Scott has now unblocked Landman and must refrain from censoring anyone else with critical viewpoints from his social media accounts as a Senator, or in any future elected position. “The overwhelming majority of cases has.... | Read More

July 25, 2019 DENVER – ACLU of Colorado attorneys sued the Town of Fraser this morning for prohibiting ACLU clients from posting communicative displays on their property that express their views on social and political issues. Beginning soon after the last presidential election, ACLU clients Melinda McWilliams and Alan Jensen began posting 2-sided displays in Jensen’s front yard in Fraser that communicated their displeasure with President Trump as well as the need for action about global.... | Read More

July 18, 2019 [caption id="attachment_7179" align="alignnone" width="300"] Photo courtesy of The Denver Channel[/caption] FORT COLLINS – A lawsuit filed against the City of Fort Collins by the ACLU of Colorado on behalf of the Fort Collins Mennonite Fellowship is close to resolution, with the parties’ attorneys having agreed on a set of conditions that will allow the Fellowship to provide outdoor storage lockers to individuals experiencing homelessness. The proposed settlement requires approval.... | Read More

June 27, 2019 DENVER – ACLU of Colorado filed suit this morning against Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell to challenge his plan to enforce federal immigration law under an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The ACLU’s lawsuit, on behalf of six Teller County residents and taxpayers, argues that Sheriff Mikesell is diverting their tax money from its intended purpose of enforcing Colorado law in order to fund his unlawful plan to enforce federal immigration law. The.... | Read More