Immigrants who were detained at a suburban Denver facility while they awaited deportation proceedings are suing the private company that held them, alleging they were paid USD 1 a day to do janitorial work, sometimes under threat of solitary confinement.
Attorneys for the immigrants say they'll move to expand the case by seeking class-action status. They say they've heard from clients for years that immigrants work for almost nothing at private detention facilities around the US, but they called this lawsuit the first of its kind.
The immigrants scrubbed toilets, mopped and swept floors, did laundry, and prepared and served meals, among other duties, according to attorneys who filed the lawsuit in October on behalf of nine current and former detainees.
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On Monday, US District Court Judge John L Kane declined a request from the GEO Group Inc to dismiss the claims against it, allowing the federal lawsuit to proceed.
GEO is one of the largest contractors with the federal government for the detention of immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally or legal permanent residents with criminal records who face deportation. The company has denied wrongdoing and said in court documents the work is voluntary and it is abiding by federal guidelines in paying USD 1 a day.
"It's their job to run the facility, and instead they used and abused us to run the facility, and that's why we're suing," said plaintiff Alejandro Menocal, 53. Menocal is a legal permanent resident who was detained for three months while facing deportation to Mexico last year. He was released and kept his legal resident status after his attorney won his case.
GEO responded in a statement that its facilities "provide high-quality services in safe, secure and humane residential environments, and our company strongly refutes allegations to the contrary.
