Washington

Congressmen Doug Lamborn (CO-05) today sent a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to keep detainees from Guantanamo Bay out of Colorado. Lamborn, whose district includes the U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum (ADX) in Florence, also known as Supermax, is concerned the detainees pose an unacceptable risk to corrections officers and the residents of the surrounding communities.

From the letter:

            “The United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum (ADX) … can house 490 inmates and currently has a dedicated population of 489, leaving room for only one additional inmate. Therefore, transferring more than one detainee to ADX Florence is not possible unless criminals already located at the facility are transferred to other facilities, which are not as secure at ADX Florence.

            “In addition, I am extremely concerned about security risks to the men and women who would guard suspected or convicted terrorists, many of whom have sworn to kill Americans whenever and wherever possible. The risk to the communities that house these facilities would also be unacceptable.”

Lamborn disagrees with Colorado Governor Bill Ritter’s public pronouncements welcoming the Guantanamo detainees to the state, noting also that Ritter has no jurisdiction over placement of federal inmates.

Click here to read the full letter.