Hudson Residents Rally to Stop GEO Group Immigration Detention Center

Hudson residents packed a town hall meeting Wednesday to stop GEO Group from turning the former Hudson Correctional Facility into an immigration detention center.

The facility sits about 30 miles northeast of Denver along Interstate 76. GEO Group signed a five-year, $528.7 million contract Monday to reopen it as the Big Horn immigration detention center for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The town council meeting briefly shut down due to vocal protesters outside. People lined up along the center aisle for a three-minute public comment period. Over two and a half hours, the audience applauded, snapped fingers, and shouted “Shame!”

Police officers cut off speakers who exceeded their time.

Many attendees urged council members to explore legal options to stop the center from opening. They also asked for a vote on whether they support the facility.

Former State Rep. Tim Hernandez told council members that ICE would wait at a nearby elementary school to arrest Latino parents during pickup if the center opens. He asked everyone who opposed the detention center to stand. Nearly everyone rose.

“In the end history will remember who stood and who sat,” Hernandez said.

The meeting opened with standard town business: short-term rental regulations and food truck rules. The audience held signs reading “No ICE Concentration Camps” and “‘Why didn’t anyone stop them?’ — Future History Books.”

Some signs featured black Xs painted over mouths. A protester pressed an upside-down U.S. flag into a window of the meeting room. Others banged on the glass.

A woman in the audience said, “They don’t want your concentration camps. I think that’s what they’re trying to say.”

The Colorado Sun reported the meeting ended with a rain of comments and curse words from the audience about ICE. President Donald Trump was mentioned in the context of the broader political pressure, though the immediate focus remained on local action.

The former Hudson Correctional Facility had been speculated to become ICE’s next state detention center for months. The $528.7 million contract confirms that speculation. The facility holds nearly 1,200 beds.

Speakers called the proposed center a “stain on the community.” They labeled it a “concentration camp.” The distinction matters to locals who fear long-term economic and social impacts.

Hudson is small enough that a 1,200-bed facility changes the town’s character significantly. It is not just a building on a highway. It is a daily presence for families, students, and property owners.

Council members now face pressure to act. They can delay. They can sue. Or they can vote.

The short version: The money is signed. The beds are ready. The people are angry. What the council does next determines whether Hudson becomes a major hub for immigration detention or holds its ground.