Detainees’ CoreCivic Forced Labor Lawsuit Loses Class Bid (1)

A group of immigrant detainees suing private prison operator CoreCivic Inc. over alleged forced labor at a Georgia detention center has failed to secure class certification.

Current and former detainees allege that CoreCivic—which runs the center under a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement—coerced participation in a “voluntary work program” with punishments that included solitary confinement and threats of criminal prosecution. The plaintiffs further alleged that food, clothing, and hygiene items were so inadequate at the Lumpkin, Ga., facility that they could only obtain necessities by purchasing them from the commissary after earning money through the work program.

But the ...