This story by Lindsey Toomer appeared on Colorado Newsline on February 26, 2026.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously denied a private prison company’s request to dismiss a class-action lawsuit challenging its work requirements for people detained at an Aurora immigration detention center.
A 2014 lawsuit led by Alejandro Menocal alleges private prison operator GEO Group unlawfully required people in custody at its Aurora U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility to work without pay or face up to 72 hours in solitary confinement. The work involved cleaning common areas. The lawsuit says that requirement violates a federal ban on forced labor.
The facility also had a voluntary work program that paid detainees $1 an hour to prepare food and do laundry. That work policy violated Colorado’s ban on unjust enrichment since GEO Group did not pay for full labor costs, according to Menocal’s suit.
Menocal was in ICE custody at the Aurora facility in 2014.
The GEO Group argued it was immune from legal challenges since its work operating the Aurora detention center was on behalf of the federal government, so it proactively sought to end the lawsuit before trial. A district court denied that request, and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed GEO Group’s appeal of that denial. Justice Elena Kagan wrote that the case GEO Group’s argument relied on “provides a defense to liability, not an immunity from suit.”
The GEO Group did not respond to a request for comment ahead of publication.
The Supreme Court decision is not a final ruling in the case but a procedural one that allows the case to move forward to trial or a settlement between parties.
Towards Justice, a progressive nonprofit legal organization based in Colorado, is one of the groups representing Menocal and the class of clients in the original case.
“A lot of politicians are out there talking about holding ICE accountable,” David Seligman, the organization’s executive director and a Democratic candidate for Colorado attorney general, said in a statement. “But this is what it actually looks like — years of fighting on behalf of courageous clients, alongside the movement to protect immigrants.”
The Aurora ICE detention center, with a total capacity of more than 1,500 detainees, has long been the target of criticism from activists over allegations of inhumane conditions and dehumanizing treatment. Members of Congress from Colorado routinely make oversight visits to the facility and filed a lawsuit after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security blocked them from making unannounced visits last year.
The Supreme Court decision came a few weeks after a Denver judge ruled the Colorado Department of Corrections cannot punish incarcerated people for refusing to work under the state’s ban on involuntary servitude. Coloradans voted to outlaw involuntary servitude for people convicted of crimes in 2018.
Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com.
Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com.