Kamyar Samimi had lived in the U.S. for over four decades as a lawful permanent resident when he died in an Aurora ICE facility, according to a report by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The report, released Tuesday, claims that Samimi and others at the GEO-owned Aurora ICE Processing Center have suffered or died after not receiving proper medical care.

“Mr. Samimi’s tragic death reflects the atrocious conditions at [the center], which holds close to 1,500 detainees, most of whom are in civil immigration proceedings,” the report states. “Having come to the U.S in search of a better life, they are confined without access to sufficient medical care, adequate nutrition, legal resources or, in many cases, basic human decency.”

Samimi was brought to the facility in December 2017 after ICE agents noted he had a drug possession conviction from 12 years prior, which they said was a violation of his lawful permanent resident status. He had been taking methadone daily for 20 years due to chronic pain from an auto accident, according to the report.

Facility staff noted that Samimi complained of withdrawal symptoms but did not provide him the medication and the opioid withdrawal turned fatal, the report states.

ACLU of Colorado Legal Director Mark Silverstein said in a release that the decision was “medically unjustifiable.”

“On the first day of Mr. Samimi’s incarceration, GEO’s physician ordered that Mr. Samimi be cut off from the methadone he had been legally taking for 20 years, thus forcing Mr. Samimi to endure the all-consumingly painful, debilitating and life-threatening torture of opioid withdrawal,” Silverstein said.

Pablo Paez, executive vice president of corporate relations at GEO, said in an email Wednesday that the company does have policies in place for opioid withdrawal treatment that align with ICE standards.

Alethea Smock, public affairs officer for ICE, said in an email Thursday that ACDF is in full compliance with national standards, as evidenced by the most recent inspection in October.

“Any fatality in ICE custody is tragic, and our staff takes all efforts to prevent fatalities,” she said. “However, aliens enter ICE custody from countries around the world, and many have never been treated by a doctor or dentist prior to entering ICE custody. Although regrettable, fatalities in ICE custody occur at a tiny fraction of the national average for detained populations in federal or state custody.”

Smock explained that ICE facilities had a total of nine fatalities out of over 396,000 detainees throughout 2018, where the average mortality rate in state prisons was 256 deaths per 100,000, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics from 2001-2014.

Samimi’s case was one example cited in the report, which outlines numerous allegations of neglect and abuse. Through interviews with former staff and residents, the ACLU described instances of diabetics not having blood sugar checked, medication doses being insufficient, allergies being ignored, improper wound care and lack of dental treatment.

GEO staffs ACDF with 46 medical professionals who provide 24/7 services, according to Paez, noting that the employees undergo 120 hours of training before working at the facility.

“There are currently open positions that are in the process of being filled pending client approval, however, those positions are currently being covered on an interim basis by medical professionals with the same medical qualifications or higher,” Paez said. “However, we’re facing the same challenges as the rest of the medical community with the national healthcare worker shortage.” 

GEO is negotiating with ICE to add another doctor to the facility, according to Paez. When doctors are unavailable, standard procedure is to send residents to the closest hospital.

Gov. Jared Polis wrote a letter to ACDF in 2018 when he was serving in Congress, asking the facility what would be done to improve care.

“It is important you keep in mind that detainees ICE holds in its facilities are held in civil, not criminal, custody,” Polis wrote. “ICE has a constitutional responsibility to provide for the well-being of detainees while they are held in its facilities.”

According to the report, ICE inspected ACDF after Samimi’s death and found “numerous violations” of ICE standards.

“The conditions at ACDF represent the worst of what currently plagues our society and government,” ACLU of Colorado Staff Attorney Arash Jahanian said in the report.

“GEO Group is profiting off caging people and denying them conditions consistent with human decency, including basic medical care. Instead of holding GEO accountable, the Trump administration stuffs the company’s pockets by placing more people in its care with dire consequences.”

Paez said that the ACLU also stood against GEO when testifying against the company to Denver City Council last month.

“We recognize that the ACLU has a political position generally against public-private partnerships,” Paez said. “So, it’s not surprising its report would only confirm their political position.”