9-0 SCOTUS Ruling Could Trigger Wave of ICE Detention Lawsuits

The Supreme Court, in a 9-0 ruling, sided against a private prison firm that contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain illegal aliens. 

The outcome could subject privately-owned prisons currently contracting with ICE or other government agencies to more litigation. The ruling stems from a lawsuit that has languished in court for more than a decade.

With Wednesday’s ruling, illegal immigrant detainees can continue to sue The GEO Group, the defendant in the case, for requiring them to work for $1 per day. The company sought to toss the lawsuit, claiming sovereign immunity as a government contractor with ICE. 

The litigation dates to 2014 when detainees—held in Aurora, Colorado—alleged they were forced to do janitorial and other work virtually without pay. 

“Nothing in its [the ICE contract’s] terms, the court found, instructed GEO to adopt the work rules at issue,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the unanimous majority. 

The GEO Group has 98 facilities, including one in Newark, New Jersey, where last year Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested for protesting. 

Alejandro Menocal, a detainee, initiated the class action lawsuit on behalf of the Aurora facility’s detainees.

The suit challenges two policies that GEO used to reduce labor costs. The plaintiffs alleged the company violated both a federal law against forced labor and a Colorado law prohibiting unjustified enrichment. 

GEO defended the practice and initially argued for the case to be dismissed because it was an ICE contractor, but a district judge sided with the plaintiffs. 

Menocal did not win the case, only the right to continue the litigation. 

“If eventually found liable, GEO may of course appeal … But GEO must wait until then,” Kagan wrote.