Immigration Lawsuit Alleges Detainees Forced Into Solitary Confinement

A federal judge in Denver has refused to dismiss an immigration lawsuit alleging that private prison contractors force detainees to carry out routine maintenance tasks for little to no pay. The immigration lawsuit accuses The GEO Group of violating state minimum wage laws, as well as federal laws against human trafficking. U.S. District Judge John L. Kane dismissed some of the claims made in the suit, but maintained some of the others, including the human trafficking allegations.

Details of the Immigration Lawsuit

The immigration lawsuit also states that detainees take part in a “voluntary” work program. The program calls on detainees to do laundry, prepare food and carry out cleaning tasks. The detainees receive $1 per day for their participation. The immigration lawsuit alleges that the low pay violates the state’s minimum wage law. The also suit alleges that staffers at an immigration detention facility in Aurora, Colorado, force detainees to choose between cleaning the living “pods” or getting transferred to solitary confinement.

Immigration Lawsuit Targets Private Prisons

The defendants in the immigration lawsuit, The GEO Group, operate 66 private prisons across the country, including the Aurora detention facility. The company operates under a contract with The U.S. Immigrant and Customs Enforcement office, better known as “ICE”. The immigration lawsuit alleges that the company uses detainee labor to increase its profits under the ICE contract. Judge Kane upheld the unjust enrichment claim, while dismissing the claim regarding violations of the state minimum wage law, citing that the state had already exempted prison labor from the minimum wage requirements.

Immigration Lawsuit Examines Prison Policies

Judge Kane’s ruling on the immigration lawsuit and its merits has raised some issues about the policies of private prison operators. The immigration lawsuit highlighted the policy of choosing random detainees to clean the living spaces, denying them any pay and forcing them into solitary confinement if they refused. These actions could be interpreted as violations of the federal Trafficking Victims Prevention Act. This law bars coercing workers into performing tasks “by means of force, threats of force, physical restraint or threats of physical restraint.”

Reaction to the Immigration Lawsuit

Attorneys for The GEO Group called for the dismissal of the entire immigration lawsuit. A statement from the company said that it “strongly refutes allegations” that dispute that the company “provide(s) high quality services in safe, secure and humane” facilities. A statement from the plaintiff’s lawyers in the immigration lawsuit cited the company’s practices of “using forced detainee labor” as “an integral tool in maintaining GEO’s profitability” and called such actions a “morally bankrupt business model.”

Source: Westword

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