Lawsuit Takes Issue with ‘Forced Labor’ of Detainees at California’s Adelanto Detention Center

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A California man has filed suit against The GEO Group, Inc. claiming he was unlawfully forced to perform labor for the defendant for $1 per day at the Adelanto Detention Center, which the suit names as “the nation’s deadliest civil immigration detention facility.” According to the suit, the plaintiff and others who were detained in the Adelanto Facility while awaiting immigration or citizenship status decisions performed “nearly free” labor for the defendant in exchange for $1 per day, which they used to purchase food, water, and hygiene products that were withheld from them.

The complaint claims the Adelanto Facility is “notorious” for treating its detainees poorly and cites several examples of failed reviews and inspections, including a report noting the death of a detainee that “could have been prevented” absent medical staff’s “egregious errors.” The plaintiff, who performed janitorial services and worked as a barber during his three years in the facility, says he was “forced to submit” to the defendant’s unlawful pay practices in order to afford necessities that the GEO Group neglected to provide.

According to the suit, the plaintiff and other detainees worked for the defendant under the threat of disciplinary segregations, solitary confinement, negative reports to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and criminal prosecution. The case argues that the company’s “unlawful economic exploitation” of detainees violated federal labor law and several state laws, noting that their employment was not willful and they were paid significantly less than minimum wage.