Thousands of ICE detainees claim they were forced into labor, a violation of anti-slavery laws

[babylonsister]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/03/05/thousands-of-ice-detainees-claim-they-were-forced-into-labor-a-violation-of-anti-slavery-laws/?utm_term=.c304414e4088


Thousands of ICE detainees claim they were forced into labor, a violation of anti-slavery laws
By Kristine Phillips March 5 at 8:00 AM


Tens of thousands of immigrants detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were forced to work for $1 day, or for nothing at all — a violation of federal anti-slavery laws — a lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit, filed in 2014 against one of the largest private prison companies in the country, reached class-action status this week after a federal judge’s ruling. That means the case could involve as many as 60,000 immigrants who have been detained.

It’s the first time a class-action lawsuit accusing a private U.S. prison company of forced labor has been allowed to move forward.

“That’s obviously a big deal; it’s recognizing the possibility that a government contractor could be engaging in forced labor,” said Nina DiSalvo, executive director of Towards Justice, a Colorado-based nonprofit group that represents low-wage workers, including undocumented immigrants. “Certification of the class is perhaps the only mechanism by which these vulnerable individuals who were dispersed across the country and across the world would ever be able to vindicate their rights.”

At the heart of the dispute is the Denver Contract Detention Facility, a 1,500-bed center in Aurora, Colo., owned and operated by GEO Group under a contract with ICE. The Florida-based corporation runs facilities to house immigrants who are awaiting their turn in court.

The lawsuit, filed against GEO Group on behalf of nine immigrants, initially sought more than $5 million in damages. Attorneys expect the damages to grow substantially given the case’s new class-action status.

The class-action ruling by U.S. District Judge John Kane means that as many as 60,000 current and former detainees at the detention facility in Aurora are now part of the lawsuit without having to actively join as plaintiffs, said Andrew Free, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/03/05/thousands-of-ice-detainees-claim-they-were-forced-into-labor-a-violation-of-anti-slavery-laws/?utm_term=.c304414e4088

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. tRumps new agency VOICE. Coopt the acronym as Victims Of ICE.

He thinks there are millions of Victims of Immigrant Crime Engagement.

[BadgerMom]

2. +1000

[lark]

3. Aha!

ll the pieces are coming together. This is why they want to round up undocumented folks, to make them work for free to the vast enrichment of the private prisons and the people they donate to, like Sessions and drumpf. This is also why they are dead set on enforcing federal mj laws against the states that legalized it. That is a huge source of prisoners, which also keeps people from voting after they are convicted. They don't care that deaths from overdoses and from vehicles are also way down in states that have legalized pot. All crimes are way down and they won't tolerate that. They want their prisoner/slaves and will get them one way or the other. Win, win, win for hate filled, greedy, traitorous R's.

[dalton99a]

4. Private prison CEOs belong in prison.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

5. Trump making America great again

Jeff Sessions approves.