Kim Gale  |  April 29, 2019

Category: Detention Center Labor

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If you or someone you know has experienced threats or punishment over immigration detention center labor, the facts that you share could benefit this lawsuit investigation.

According to several detainees, people who have been held in detention centers run by private, for-profit company CoreCivic have been forced to work for a dollar a day or experience punishment.

CoreCivic provides correctional facilities and detention centers through contracts with the federal government. The company calls itself “a diversified government solutions company with the scale and experience needed to solve tough government challenges in cost-effective ways.”

CoreCivic pays quarterly dividends to shareholders, which means the company has an incentive to decrease its expenses.

At least one CoreCivic class action lawsuit alleges CoreCivic makes detainees participate in the Voluntary Work Program to prepare food, mop floors and do laundry for as little as $1 a day. Detainees say if they refuse to work, they are punished by having necessities such as toothpaste and toilet paper withheld from them or are threatened with solitary confinement.

When detainees are deprived of necessities, they are forced to work to pay for the goods from the detention center’s commissary.

Plaintiffs in the CoreCivic lawsuit allege the $1 a day is in violation of the federal minimum wage law.

The $1 a day wage originated with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s rules under the Voluntary Work Program that states those who are providing detention centers do not have to pay amy more than that to detainees who work. The rate was determined by U.S. Congress in 1950 and has not been revised since then.

At the same time, detainees say they are being charged exorbitant fees for basic items, including more than $12 for a 15-minute phone call and $11 for a four-ounce tube of toothpaste.

The people held in immigrant detention centers are not accused of committing any crimes. They include people from other countries who are seeking student visas or green cards and many of whom are seeking refuge from war-torn countries or lands run by dangerous drug lords. They will eventually face a hearing where they will be either granted asylum or be deported back to their country of origin.

Detention Center Labor Conditions in California

CoreCivic runs the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego, where detainees have signed a letter of complaints about conditions at the facility. One detainee said he was given no choice but to work extra shifts for $1 per day.

A group known as Detainee Allies said it had received reports in the form of 49 letters from detainees. A total of 12 said Otay forced them to work in unsafe working environments and 16 said they were victims of forced labor or wage theft. According to the Los Angeles Times, CoreCivic has denied allegations of poor or punitive conditions related to compelled labor at its facilities.

Join a Free CoreCivic Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were detained in one of CoreCivic’s detention facilities as an immigration detainee with pending immigration status or deportation within the past year or you witnessed forced-labor practices, you may qualify to participate in an immigration detainee labor lawsuit investigation.

Fill out the form on this page for more information. 

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.

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