Forced labor may be a problem at the CoreCivic ICE Taylor detention center and other immigration facilities around the country.

CoreCivic Detention Centers

CoreCivic is a private prison company that runs several detention centers across the country as a part of their contract with ICE. These facilities house immigrants who have been detained while the government makes a decision about their status.

There are several CoreCivic ICE Detention Centers in Texas, including the following:

• Houston Processing Center (Houston, TX)
• Laredo Processing Center (Laredo, TX)
• South Texas Residential Facility (Dilley, TX)
• Don Hutto Residential Center (Taylor, TX)
• Webb County Detention Center (Laredo, TX)

CoreCivic ICE Taylor Detention Center

According to Wikipedia, the T. Don Hutto ICE Taylor Detention Center was established as an ICE holding facility in 2006. In the beginning, immigrant families were held in the facility. However, a lawsuit regarding the facility’s standards prompted the government to close the facility to immigrant families in 2009. Instead, the facility would start to only hold female detainees.

CoreCivic Forced Labor Allegations

Recently CoreCivic ICE detention centers have come under fire after former detainees have claimed that they were forced to work for the facilities in exchange for measly wages.

According to In These Times, one former detainee Martha G. was held for 14 months and was allegedly forced into CoreCivic’s “volunteer” labor programs.

Martha was reportedly transferred between three facilities in Texas. At each of the CoreCivic detention centers, employees allegedly coerced detainees into working seven days a week by depriving them of basic necessities and threatening solitary confinement.

Whenever Martha tried to take a day off, the staff at the CoreCivic detention facilities would reportedly deny her toothpaste and other essentials such as feminine products. Unless Gonzalez worked, she was allegedly restricted to receiving only two sanitary napkins per day to manage her menstruation.

Despite having to work every day of the week and being coerced into labor programs, detainees like Martha were allegedly only paid one dollar a day. The situation allegedly got worse. In 2016, Martha reportedly filed a complaint after some of her already small wages went unpaid. The facility allegedly retaliated against her and prevented her from working at all.

Although the forced labor program only paid Martha $1 a day, she claims that the money was essential for her to be able to communicate with her daughter and mother. When she was retaliated against and prevented from working, Martha was allegedly unable to afford the 50 cents per minute rate associated with calling her family.

Former and current detainees are taking action against CoreCivic for allegedly perpetuating harmful forced labor programs. Although these victims are working to advocate for themselves, anyone who witnessed the scheme may be able to take legal action as well.

Volunteers or employees of CoreCivic detention centers may be able to file a whistleblower lawsuit against the for-profit prison company if they witnessed illegal actions. Legal action could help hold CoreCivic accountable for human rights violations and the individuals who blow the whistle on the company may be able to recover compensation as a part of any resulting settlement or verdict.

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