Supreme Court Rules Immigration Detention Contractor Not Automatically Immune From Detainee Lawsuits

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a federal contractor operating an immigration detention facility is not automatically immune from lawsuits filed by detainees, allowing a long-running forced-labor case against GEO Group, Inc. to move forward.

The case, GEO Group, Inc. v. Menocal et al., was filed in 2014 by detainees at a privately operated facility in Aurora, Colorado. The plaintiffs alleged that GEO Group required detainees to work for $1 per day, in violation of federal forced labor laws and Colorado’s prohibition on unjust enrichment.

GEO Group argued that the case should be dismissed . . .