GEO to Triple Colorado ICE Center Capacity

AURORA, Colo. — The GEO Group will spend more than $70 million to expand its 400-bed Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center here.

GEO will expand capacity to 1,500 beds to meet the increasing need for ICE detention space, officials say. The Aurora facility serves as the central ICE processing center for the states of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming.

Operating at 90 percent capacity, officials estimate the expanded facility, which is due for completion by the end of 2009, will generate approximately $30 million in additional annual revenue.

The Florida-based correctional and detention management firm, which operates the Aurora processing facility under a contract with the federal government, houses about 40,000 individuals at 50 facilities throughout the United States.

The company also has extensive international operations with detention and immigration facilities in Australia, South Africa and the United Kingdom.