Federal judge allows immigrants’ lawsuit against private prison to go forward News
Federal judge allows immigrants’ lawsuit against private prison to go forward

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Colorado [official website] ruled [order, PDF] Monday that there was a sufficient basis for a class action lawsuit, brought on behalf of former and current inmates against one of the nation’s largest private prison companies, thereby certifying class status. GEO Group [corporate website], the private prison management company that runs the federal immigration detainment center in Aurora, Colorado, is accused of forcing detainees to work for little to no wages, and allegedly threatening some with solitary confinement if they refused to work. Plaintiffs’ attorney Andrew Free [website] stated, “[t]his is the first time that a private prison company has ever been accused of forced labor, and this is the first time that a judge has ever found that the claims can go forward under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the bans in federal law on forced labor.” Speaking on behalf of GEO, Pablo Paez [Bloomberg profile] denied the allegations:

The volunteer work program at immigration facilities as well as the wage rates and standards associated with the program are set by the Federal government. Our facilities, including the Aurora, Colo. Facility, are highly rated and provide high-quality services in safe, secure, and humane residential environments pursuant to the Federal Government’s national standards.

According to Free, the lawsuit is expected to encourage others of the same kind, which may have an impact on President Donald Trump’s immigration plans. Such plans include increasing the number of immigrant arrests.

The rights of immigrants, and immigration more generally, has been a topic of much contention during the still-young Trump Administration. Earlier this week, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied [JURIST report] a request by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to stay an appeal on Trump’s controversial immigration executive order. The DOJ requested [JURIST reports] a hold on the court proceedings until Trump issues a new order on immigration. Last month the appeals court upheld [JURIST report] a lower court decision issuing a stay on the executive orders pending proceedings.

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