A person detained at the Aurora ICE processing center puts their hands together in a praying motion during a Passover Grief Vigil on 8 April 2026 in Aurora, Colorado. Photograph: Timothy Hurst/Denver Post/Getty Images

The reported infections are the latest in a series of health concerns at the federal immigration jail in Aurora

At least 12 people detained at a federal immigration jail in Colorado have contracted tuberculosis in recent days, according to testimony from inside the facility where dozens of others have reportedly been placed in quarantine.

Those affected by the outbreak are also being made to endure their isolation without air conditioning, one detainee who has been at the facility in Aurora since December told the Guardian, through his partner, in a telephone call on Monday afternoon.

Neither the Department of Homeland Security, nor the Geo Group , the Florida-based private company that operates the Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ) processing center under government contract, responded to a request for comment or confirmation.

But the Mexican detainee in his 30s, whose name the Guardian is not publishing for fear of possible retribution by guards, gave a detailed account of developments inside the troubled center over the past few days, which have included the mass testing of everyone within one of the centers so-called pods.

The person said that all 88 people he is detained with received testing on Saturday, with 12 positive cases coming back, up from a single case three days earlier. Instead of separating those infected, he said, guards kept them together with those who were not sick, and the entire group was told they must stay in quarantine for at least a week.

To make matters worse, the detainee said, the air conditioning in the pod broke down on Sunday, and staff distributed electric fans. On Monday afternoon, Aurora was under a heat advisory with the outside air temperature at 96F ( 36C ) .

It is not known how many people are incarcerated at the center, which has a published capacity of 1,532 , and the person said he was unaware if any of the other pods of detainees had been tested or returned any positive results.

He described the situation inside as uncomfortable, but said he had seen some of his fellow detainees receiving medication in the mornings and afternoons.

His long-term partner, a US citizen who lives in south Florida, whose identity the Guardian is also withholding, said the apparently worsening conditions at the facility were causing anxiety. Tuberculosis is a serious bacterial infection that in its active form can be transmitted in the air, and can prove fatal if left untreated.

I dont know if they understand the severity of what TB is, he said.

Obviously its not a good thing, and he has some other underlying health conditions which are a concern for us. The first day he was very scared, very worried.

Their focus is more associated with having no air conditioning. I dont understand what the hold up is. I manage restaurants and if they lose AC we get it fixed inside 24 or 48 hours. I dont know why a multimillion dollar corporation cant get an air conditioning technician out there.

The reported infections are the latest in a series of health concerns at the Colorado immigration jail. There was another apparent TB outbreak in April last year, according to a lawsuit filed by a number of Democratic politicians seeking more transparency from the Trump administration over deaths and disease in federal detention facilities.

One of the plaintiffs, Jason Crow, a Democratic congressman who represents Aurora, has maintained an online database of oversight visits. It features occasions on which he was also refused admission, and requests for information about conditions at the facility, which housed 1,249 detainees as recently as March.

Since 2019, Crow, or his staff, have visited the facility to conduct oversight more than 90 times, according to the congressmans office, and a spokesperson said he was determined to keep monitoring the situation inside closely.

For-profit prisons have perpetuated ICEs lawlessness and endangered our communities, Crow said in a statement to the Guardian. Ive led the charge to end this broken and humane system. Until we do, Ill continue to conduct oversight to hold ICE accountable.

The Geo Group, which has close ties to members of the Trump administration, a report found in May, has faced lawsuits of its own over inhumane and unsanitary conditions at facilities it runs.

In the latest action last month, Jennifer Davenport, the attorney general of New Jersey, sued to try to force the company to allow officials from the states department of health into the notorious Delaney Hall ICE detention center in Newark.

Detainees there staged a hunger strike over visitation, conditions and what they said was a lack of medical care provided by Geo Group staff and contractors. A number of protesters were hurt in a series of violent clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement outside the facility.

On its website, Geo Group said it provides around-the-clock access to medical care, in-person and virtual legal and family visitation at its Aurora facility, and that health care staffing at GEOs ICE Processing Center is more than double that of many states correctional facilities.

据报道，奥罗拉联邦移民拘留所近期接连出现健康问题，最新发现的是感染病例。

据该设施内部证词显示，科罗拉多州一所联邦移民拘留所近日至少有 12 名在押人员感染肺结核，另有数十人据报已被隔离。

据一名自 12 月起被关押在奥罗拉拘留中心的人员通过其伴侣在周一下午的电话中向《卫报》透露，受疫情影响的被拘留者还被迫在没有空调的环境中忍受隔离。

美国国土安全部及总部位于佛罗里达州的私营企业 GEO 集团均未对置评或确认请求作出回应。该公司根据政府合同负责运营移民与海关执法局（ICE）的羁押处理中心。

但这位 30 多岁的墨西哥被拘留者（《卫报》出于担心其可能遭到看守报复的考虑未公开其姓名）详细描述了该问题中心过去几天内的事态进展，其中包括对中心内某个所谓 " 单元 " 中所有人进行的大规模检测。

该人士称，与他一同被拘留的 88 人周六全部接受了检测，结果有 12 例呈阳性，而三天前仅有一例。他表示，警卫人员并未将感染者隔离开来，而是让他们与未患病者混居，并告知整组人员必须继续隔离至少一周。

据被拘留者描述，更糟糕的是，周日监舍内的空调发生故障，工作人员分发了电风扇。周一下午，奥罗拉市发布高温预警，室外气温高达 96 华氏度（36 摄氏度）。

目前尚不清楚该中心关押了多少人，其公布的容量为 1532 人。该消息人士表示，他并不知晓其他拘留区域的人员是否已接受检测或出现阳性结果。

他形容内部状况 " 令人不适 "，但表示曾目睹部分被拘留同伴在早晚接受药物治疗。

他的长期伴侣（一位居住在南佛罗里达州的美国公民，《卫报》同样未透露其身份）表示，该机构明显恶化的条件正引发担忧。结核病是一种严重的细菌感染，其活跃形态可通过空气传播，若不及时治疗可能致命。

" 我不确定他们是否了解结核病的严重性，" 他说道。

显然这不是件好事，况且他还患有其他基础疾病，这让我们颇为担忧。第一天时他非常害怕，焦虑不安。

他们的关注点更多在于没有空调的问题。我不明白为何迟迟不解决。我经营餐厅，如果空调坏了，我们会在 24 或 48 小时内修好。我不明白为何一家市值数百万美元的公司却无法派出一名空调维修技师。

据报道，科罗拉多州移民拘留所近期出现的感染病例，是该机构一系列健康问题中的最新案例。根据多名民主党政治人士提起的诉讼显示，去年 4 月该拘留所还曾暴发过明显的结核病疫情。这些政界人士要求特朗普政府就联邦拘留设施内的死亡和疾病问题提高透明度。

原告之一、代表奥罗拉市的民主党众议员贾森 · 克罗建立了一个监督访问的在线数据库。其中记录了他被拒绝进入的场合，以及要求提供有关该设施条件的信息。截至今年 3 月，该设施关押了 1249 名被拘留者。

据众议员克劳的办公室称，自 2019 年以来，克劳或其工作人员已对该设施进行了 90 多次监督访问。一位发言人表示，他决心继续密切关注该设施内部的情况。

克劳在向《卫报》发表的声明中表示：" 营利性监狱助长了美国移民和海关执法局（ICE）的违法行为，并危及我们的社区。" " 我一直致力于终结这一失灵且不人道的制度。在此之前，我将继续履行监督职责，确保 ICE 承担责任。"

5 月的一份报告显示，与特朗普政府成员关系密切的 GEO 集团，因其运营设施中存在的 " 不人道且不卫生的条件 " 而面临诉讼。

新泽西州总检察长詹妮弗 · 达文波特上月采取最新行动，提起诉讼试图迫使该公司允许州卫生部门官员进入位于纽瓦克臭名昭著的德拉尼霍尔 ICE 拘留中心。

被拘留者因探视权、生活条件以及他们所称的由 Geo Group 员工及承包商提供的医疗护理不足而发起绝食抗议。在设施外发生的一系列示威者与执法人员的暴力冲突中，多名抗议者受伤。

Geo 集团在其官网声明，其奥罗拉设施提供 " 全天候医疗服务、面对面及虚拟法律咨询与家属探访服务 "，并称 " 该集团 ICE 处理中心的医疗人员配置是许多州立惩教设施的两倍以上 "。