In this lawsuit, the children of Kamyar Samimi seek to hold the Geo Group accountable for the wrongful death of their father. 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, a for-profit detention center operated by GEO. The ACLU of Colorado’s investigation, which required a lawsuit to force ICE to release records under the Freedom of Information Act, revealed a gut-wrenching picture of his final days and reflected the inhumane conditions and lack of adequate medical care at ACDF.
On the first day of Mr. Samimi’s detention, GEO’s solitary full-time physician, following GEO policy, ordered that Mr. Samimi be abruptly cut off from the methadone he’d been taking legally for 20 years. The lawsuit alleges that the order was medically unjustifiable, caused life-threatening and tortuously painful opioid withdrawal, and that Mr. Samini failed to receive appropriate medical care as his condition deteriorated.
The ICE internal review of Mr. Samini’s death, which was released in response to the ACLU’s FOIA lawsuit, found numerous violations of ICE standards. The ICE documents were featured in an ACLU of Colorado investigative report, Cashing In On Cruelty, that detailed numerous stories of medical neglect and incompetence at GEO, as well as substandard care that contributed to the suffering and death of Samimi.
In 2020, the matter came to resolution through settlement terms that the parties agreed to keep confidential.
ACLU press releases:
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“ACLU report highlights death, abuse and neglect at Aurora ICE detention facility,” ACLU News Release, September 18, 2019
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"ACLU of Colorado sues GEO for the wrongful death of Kamyar Samimi," ACLU News Release, November 12, 2019
Media re Cashing In On Cruelty:
- “ACLU report alleges medical neglect, maltreatment at Aurora ICE facility run by GEO Group,” The Denver Post, September 18, 2019
- “ACLU Colorado releases scathing report of Aurora’s private immigrant detention center,” Denverite, September 18, 2019
- “New ACLU Report On ICE Facility In Aurora Calls For Change,” CBS News, September 18, 2019
- “ACLU report alleges improper medical care at Aurora ICE facility,” Fox 31, September 18, 2019
- “ACLU blasts Aurora immigrant detention center, citing medical neglect,” Gazette, September 18, 2019
- “ACLU pushing for nationwide changes at GEO-ICE prisons, citing 2017 Aurora death of immigrant inmate," Aurora Sentinel, September 21, 2019
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“ACLU Report Tells Stories From Inside ICE Detention Facility in Aurora,” KUNC, September 19, 2019
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“Legal immigrant’s painful death in ICE facility was preventable, says daughter,” FastCompany.com, September 23, 2019
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“ACLU report: Medical neglect at Aurora ICE facility led to 2 deaths, violates 'basic human rights',” 7 News, September 28, 2019
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“ACLU report: Aurora ICE facility's lack of medical care has led to deaths,” Colorado Politics, September 28, 2019
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“Medical care in immigrant detention centers under fire,” CNN Investigates, October 4, 2019
Media re suit against GEO
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“ACLU Files Lawsuit Against GEO, Alleges The Wrongful Death Of An Inmate,” CBS News, November 12, 2019
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“ACLU sues GEO Group and doctor for wrongful death of immigrant detainee in Aurora,” Colorado Independent, November 12, 2019
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“ACLU Colorado files suit against GEO immigration prison,” Denverite, November 12, 2019
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“Family files lawsuit in death of man who died while detained by ICE,” 9 News, November 12, 2019
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Wrongful death lawsuit filed after death of man held in Aurora immigration detention center,” Rocky Mountain PBS, November 13, 2019
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“'Death, abuse and neglect': ACLU report claims ICE facility medical care is inadequate,” 9 News, September 18, 2019
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“Family of Iranian Man Who Died in ICE Detention Sues GEO Group for Wrongful Death: 'He Was Fine…Two Weeks Later, He Was Dead',” Newsweek, November 13, 2019
