Protests against ICE tracking device manufacturer BI in Gunbarrel

By Don Davis

KGNU reports from a community demonstration in the Gunbarrel area of Northeast Boulder, CO, against BI Incorporated this past Saturday, Feb. 28. BI is a manufacturer of tracking devices, specifically ankle monitors, being used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to follow detainees. Community members are calling on BI and its parent corporation, the GEO Group, to end their contract with ICE.

Members of the  Democratic Socialist Party, the Colorado Immigrant Partnership Teams, the American Friends Service Committee and the South Boulder County Indivisible led the demonstration. Gina McAfee, the statewide coordinator of the Colorado Immigrant Partnership Teams, spoke about how the detention of immigrants mirrors past historical events.

“ Folks, there is no question that immigrants are the Trump administration’s undesirables. They’re the ones being vilified,” McAfee said. “Put in inhumane detention centers run by private companies like GEO, which owns BI, and put in ankle monitors. They are the ones being hunted down in their homes and workplaces right now.”

The protest included several speakers and a group of women who called themselves the Grandmas for Justice. They sang and played instruments to the tune of “This Land is Your Land”,  a song made popular by folk singer and activist Woody Guthrie during the Great Depression.

This story was reported by Don Davis for KGNU.

This story aired on the Morning Magazine, KGNU’s weekday morning show featuring in-depth discussions on local news issues. Click here to listen to other episodes of the Morning Magazine.