Alejandro Menocal has cleared up his issues with immigration authorities, but he is still mired in a dispute with the company that runs the detention center in Aurora where he was held for several months in 2014. He's one of nine former detainees suing Florida-based GEO Group. They allege that inmates were forced to clean and serve food at the facility for $1 a day -- or sometimes no pay at all.
GEO strongly refutes the allegations, but earlier this month, U.S. District Court Judge John Kane in Colorado ruled some of the contentions in the class-action suit can go forward. The suit accuses GEO of violations of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and demands millions of dollars in damages for forced labor and unjust enrichment.
Detainees may work on a voluntary basis, according to The New York Times. But Menocal, a tree service worker from Golden who is originally from Mexico, said detainees faced retribution if they declined to work.
"Each morning, each cell would have to clean up the dining area and the hallways and so on -- and if they didn't do it, they would be punished," Menocal said.
Menocal said some detainees who refused to work were put in solitary confinement. He said detainees like him who were facing charges, but not serving a sentence, should not be forced to work. Menocal has permanent legal residence in the United States, his attorney said.
Menocol spoke with Colorado Matters' Andrea Dukakis.
A spokesman for GEO declined to comment to CPR News, but issued a statement: "GEO’s facilities, including the Aurora, Colo., facility, provide high quality services in safe, secure, and humane residential environments -- and our company strongly refutes allegations to the contrary."
GEO also claimed that a "volunteer work program" in the facility adheres to federal standards and meets its contract obligations. GEO added that the Aurora facility scored a 100 percent in its most recent audit by the independent American Correctional Association, which accredits detention facilities around the country.
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