Arizona CoreCivic ICE detainees have allegedly been coerced into performing work around the detention centers with little or no compensation.

CoreCivic is a for profit private prison company that is contracted to run ICE detention centers for the United States and is one of the largest private prison companies in the United States. It’s one of the primary private prison companies contracted with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The company is accused of using immigrant detainees as a captive workforce in their detention centers.

Arizona CoreCivic ICE detention centers include:

• Central Arizona Florence Complex (Florence, AZ)
• Eloy Detention Center (Eloy, AZ)
• Florence Correctional Center (Florence, AZ)
• La Palma Correctional Facility (Eloy, AZ)

Overview of Private Prison Problems

According to a review by the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), there have been numerous complaints against ICE and its contractors in the past decade. The Nation reports these complaints vary in allegations from detainees who were either made to work food or felt like they had to work to pass the time, who allegedly not paid minimum wage during that time.

Private prison companies have claimed these detainees are doing the work voluntarily, but advocates argue it is merely a byproduct of their detention.

According to one lawsuit against another private prison contractor named GEO Group, several detainees at a detention center in Aurora, Colorado were forced to “clean, maintain, and operate” the 1,500 bed location. The detainees sued for wrongful wage denial, alleging GEO had paid them just one dollar a day and sometimes nothing at all.

Detainee Alejandro Hernandez Torres testified about the daily labor routine in the facility from 2012 to 2015. He said he first did “cleaning work” without pay and was then “promoted” to a dollar a day wage.

“The guards told us that if anyone didn’t do the work, they’d be put in segregation,” Torres stated. He further alleged he saw 10 detainees placed in confinement for reportedly failing to “voluntarily” scrub their pods.

Similarly, a class action lawsuit filed against a San Diego facility that is managed by CoreCivic alleged that approximately 100 detainees were doing tasks like laundry and managing the commissary shop also for a dollar per day earnings.

They have also allegedly been forced to “voluntarily” clean their own pods without pay, while under threat of “severe mental pain and suffering” through reported methods like solitary confinement and physical restraint. Lawyers on the plaintiff side argue these actions violate state and federal human trafficking laws.

Other disturbing allegations report that detainees are forced to work for food and are living in unsanitary conditions.

While prison labor is routinely performed throughout federal and private contracted prisons, federal prison authorities have to give detailed reports to the public on the living conditions of the facilities. But Arizona CoreCivic ICE Centers and other privately run prisons face less regulation, even as they gain profits from government contracts.

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