ICE Contractor Accused of Threatening Detainees With Solitary Confinement for Refusing Unpaid Work Settles Lawsuit

A private company operating an immigration detention centre in Colorado has reached a proposed settlement with former detainees who accused it of using unpaid labour and threatening solitary confinement against those who refused to work. The agreement was announced shortly before a trial was due to begin, potentially bringing a 12-year legal battle over the facility's labour practices closer to an end.

The lawsuit against The GEO Group, Inc. centred on two separate allegations at the Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora. Former detainees claimed they received just $1 a day for work carried out under one programme, while others alleged they were compelled to clean their living areas without pay under a policy backed by the threat of disciplinary action, including solitary confinement.

The proposed settlement was announced on 2 November 2026, when jury selection was due to begin. Its terms have not been disclosed, and the agreement still requires approval from a federal judge. No final compensation arrangements or changes to the company's policies have been confirmed.

The Lawsuit Distinguished Between Paid Work and Compulsory Cleaning

The original class-action complaint, filed in the US District Court for the District of Colorado on 22 October 2014, set out separate claims concerning GEO's Detainee Voluntary Work Programme and its Housing Unit Sanitation policy. Under the voluntary work programme, plaintiffs alleged that detainees were paid $1 a day for tasks performed for the company, despite Colorado minimum-wage requirements. They sought to recover the difference between the daily payment and the wages they claimed they were legally owed.

The complaint listed a wide range of duties, including cleaning bathrooms and medical facilities, doing laundry, preparing meals, maintaining floors, providing barber services, and carrying out clerical work. It also alleged that detainees helped prepare clothing for new arrivals and maintained parts of the facility's grounds.

The second claim concerned unpaid cleaning under the housing sanitation policy. The plaintiffs alleged that detainees were required to clean the living areas where they were held and faced disciplinary action, potentially including solitary confinement, if they refused.

The distinction is central to the case: the wage claim concerned work described as voluntary but allegedly underpaid, while the forced-labour claim focused on compulsory cleaning for which detainees said they received nothing.

Plaintiffs Sought to Represent More Than 1,300 Detainees

The complaint named Alejandro Menocal and eight other plaintiffs, who brought claims on their own behalf and sought to represent other people held at the Aurora facility. The proposed minimum-wage class covered detainees who worked in the voluntary programme from 22 October 2012 onwards. The plaintiffs estimated that this group included more than 300 people.

A separate proposed class covered detainees allegedly made to carry out unpaid cleaning under the sanitation policy from 22 October 2004 onwards. The complaint estimated that this group exceeded 1,000 people.

Those figures were estimates put forward by the plaintiffs, rather than a verified count of people entitled to receive money under any eventual settlement. The complaint also sought damages and other relief under federal forced-labour law, Colorado wage rules, and unjust-enrichment principles.

GEO Disputed the Claims as the Case Approached Trial

GEO argued that it operated its work programme in accordance with requirements set by the federal government and Congress, including provisions for a detainee work programme paying no less than $1 a day. The company maintained that holding it liable for following those requirements would undermine a programme intended to support safety, cleanliness, and order inside the facility.

The company also argued that disciplinary segregation was necessary to maintain security. The plaintiffs disputed that position, alleging that threats of solitary confinement were used to obtain unpaid labour and amounted to coercion under federal law.

The case had faced years of legal challenges over whether the claims could proceed against a private company operating under a federal contract. The dispute reached the US Supreme Court, which allowed the litigation to continue rather than ending it on the procedural grounds raised by GEO.

The settlement announcement came as the parties were preparing to present the case to a jury. It does not, by itself, establish that the allegations were proven or that GEO admitted liability.

With the financial terms still undisclosed, it remains unclear how much individual former detainees could receive, how eligibility will be determined or whether the agreement includes changes to detention-centre work policies. Those details will depend on the agreement submitted to the court and the judge's decision on approval.