KJ McElrath  |  June 10, 2019

Category: Detention Center Labor

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Two hands hold prison bars.

A letter signed by more than 70 detainees at a California CoreCivic ICE detention facility states that immigrants who are kept there until their hearings, but who have not been convicted of any crime, are being subject to forced labor, verbal and physical abuse, medical neglect, and more.

Now that lawsuits are being filed against CoreCivic, lawyers representing these plaintiffs are seeking employees, volunteers, relatives, visitors to the facility, and anyone else who has witnessed these acts of abuse and is willing to come forward and testify.

About CoreCivic

CoreCivic was founded as the Corrections Corporation of America in 1983. It was a new business model: prisons for profit. The CCA opened its first detention facility in an abandoned motel outside of Houston, Texas, on Super Bowl Sunday, 1984. Company co-founder T. Don Hutto, a former prison warden, personally processed their first detainees.

The CCA drew a great deal of negative publicity over the first decade of the 21st Century. During that time, there were allegations of detainee abuse and neglect, falsification of employee records, conflicts of interest and deaths at detention centers, as well as two lawsuits filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. The company changed its name to CoreCivic in October of 2016, possibly as an attempt to rehabilitate its soiled image.

Still Going Strong

Despite its checkered history and various state and county governments having terminated their contracts, CoreCivic still thrives. Just prior to changing its name to CoreCivic, CCA was awarded a $1 billion no-bid contract by the Obama Administration for the detention of refugees from Latin America seeking asylum.

Today, California CoreCivic ICE Detention Centers include:

  • California City Correctional Facility
  • Otay Mesa Detention Center
  • San Diego Correctional Facility

CoreCivic continues to operate detention centers in states across the U.S. as well as a facility in Worcestershire, U.K.

California CoreCivic ICE Detention Allegations

Last year, CoreCivic found itself as a defendant in a class action lawsuit filed by a group of former immigrant detainees. They claimed they were forced to perform labor, doing jobs that should have been undertaken by well-paid employees. These jobs include kitchen duty, laundry services and janitorial work, for which they say they were paid less than 1 dollar a day. Although the plaintiffs admitted that officially, the center’s “work program” was “voluntary,” they alleged that they had been threatened and punished when they “chose” not to take part.

Earlier this year, the Los Angeles Times reported the story of over 70 detainees who had been held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center near San Diego, who had signed a letter alleging safety violations, racial harassment and discrimination, failure to provide medical care, and abuse, as well as forced labor.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has been asked to investigate these allegations. In the meantime, law firms that either currently represent California CoreCivic ICE detainees or may do so in the future are hoping that employees and others who may have seen these violations will share their stories before a judge and jury.

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. 

Learn More

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

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