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Friday 23 June 2017
Ex-detainees: Detention center’s practices border on slavery

By COLLEEN SLEVIN operators of federal pris-
Associated Press ons. At a time when about
DENVER (AP) — Every day, 65 percent of immigration
immigrants are told to detainees were in private
clean their living areas in a facilities, the group con-
privately run Colorado de- cluded it would take billions
tention center or risk being of dollars for the govern-
put in solitary confinement. ment to take over.
Some also volunteer to do Now, President Donald
jobs as varied as landscap- Trump has asked Congress
ing, more cleaning and for a $1.5 billion budget in-
cutting other inmates’ hair, crease for ICE to arrest, de-
but the pay is always the tain and deport immigrants
same — $1 a day. in the country illegally. ICE
A group of former detain- acting director Thomas
ees says the system borders Homan recently told law-
on modern-day slavery. makers it expects to house
They are challenging it in about 51,000 immigrant
federal court and have detainees on a given day,
won the right to sue the up from nearly 40,000.
Denver-area detention In April, GEO, ICE’s second-
center’s operator on be- largest detention contrac-
half of an estimated 60,000 tor, won a $110 million con-
people held there over a In this Saturday, April 15, 2017, photograph, the entrance to the GEO Group’s immigrant detention tract to build the first new
decade. facility is shown in Aurora, Colo. Associated Press immigrant detention cen-
The former detainees al- ter under Trump.
lege the GEO Group is While people convicted of Financially, “this model of center. In its appeal, GEO said
exploiting people in the crimes and serving time in operating these facilities Jonathan Burns, spokes- the former detainees and
1,500-bed center to keep prison are often required to very much depends on man for the Nashville, Ten- their attorneys dislike ICE’s
it operating with just one work, those held in the na- the labor of the people nessee-based company, rules, but instead of asking
full-time janitor. The com- tion’s jails generally cannot detained there,” said an said all of its detainee work Congress to change them
pany reported $2.2 billion be forced to work because attorney for the Colorado programs are voluntary “they are pursuing a class-
in revenue and had nearly they have not been con- detainees, Andrew Free, of and comply with the stan- action lawsuit for monetary
$163 million in adjusted net victed, according to the Nashville, Tennessee. dards of the federal Immi- relief.” Now, the company
income last year. U.S. Justice Department’s GEO says it is only following grations and Customs En- said, it faces massive finan-
The case could have broad National Institute of Correc- government policies and forcement agency. cial risk for carrying out fed-
consequences for the pri- tions. wants an appeals court to The agency has come eral directives.
vate prison industry, which Courts view immigration block the case from pro- to rely heavily on private
hopes to cash in on de- detention not as punish- ceeding on behalf of ev- companies to house its de- GEO noted company of-
mand for more detention ment but as a way to keep eryone held from 2004 and tainee population, which ficials can remember only
space as the Trump admin- people from fleeing, said 2014, noting class-action has tended to fluctuate once when someone
istration cracks down on il- Kathleen Kim, a professor status could lead to addi- with surges and drops in im- awaiting a hearing was put
legal immigration. at Loyola Law School in Los tional claims against similar migration. in solitary confinement for
Immigration detention Angeles who specializes companies. In December, an Obama refusing to clean.
centers are roughly the in immigration law. Forc- That’s already started. An- administration task force The former detainees at the
equivalent of jails in the ing detainees to work vio- other lawsuit filed in May recommended continuing Denver Contract Detention
criminal justice system — lates the 13th Amendment, against CoreCivic, the na- the use of private contrac- Facility say $1 a day is the
places where people ac- which ended slavery and tion’s largest private prison tors for immigration detain- minimum they must receive
cused of civil violations of bars involuntary servitude operator, challenges similar ees even though the ad- for work and that GEO lied
immigration law wait until except for punishment of a labor practices at its San Di- ministration announced it in telling them it could not
their cases are resolved. crime, she said. ego immigration detention was phasing them out as pay more. q
California AG bans state travel to Texas, 3 other states

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE and legislation last year ban- some trips, such as travel of “sincerely held religious Greg Abbott, a Republi-
SOPHIA BOLLAG ning non-essential travel needed to enforce Califor- beliefs” that Becerra’s of- can.
Associated Press to states with laws that nia law and to honor con- fice says would allow LGBT Fresno State, a public Cali-
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — discriminate against les- tracts made before 2017. discrimination. fornia university, is sched-
California’s attorney gen- bian, gay, bisexual and Travel to conferences or Similar laws were enacted uled to play football against
eral blocked state-funded transgender people. North out-of-state trainings are in Alabama and South Da- the University of Alabama
travel to Texas and three Carolina, Kansas, Mississippi examples of trips that could kota. Kentucky’s new law in Tuscaloosa this fall.
other states on Thursday in and Tennessee are already be blocked. Becerra’s of- could allow LGBT discrimi- A request for a legal opin-
response to what he con- on the list. fice couldn’t provide in- nation in schools, accord- ion on whether public uni-
siders anti-LGBT rights laws California taxpayers’ mon- formation about how of- ing to Becerra’s office. versity sports’ travel is ex-
enacted this year. ey “will not be used to let ten state employees have “California may be able to empt from the ban has
Democratic Attorney Gen- people travel to states who visited the newly banned stop their state employees, been filed with Becerra’s
eral Xavier Becerra added chose to discriminate,” states. but they can’t stop all the office, but no ruling has
Texas, Alabama, South Da- Becerra said. Texas was added to the list businesses that are fleeing been issued.
kota and Kentucky to the It’s unclear what practical because of a law that lets over taxation and regula-
list of places where state effect California’s travel child welfare organizations tion and relocating to Tex- Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s
employee travel is restrict- ban will have. The state law deny services and adop- as,” said John Wittman, a press office did not have
ed. Lawmakers passed contains exemptions for tions to families because spokesman for Texas Gov. an immediate comment.q