Immigrant detainees refuse to work in a strike back at GEO Group
Hundreds of immigrants detained at Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, have launched a hunger strike and labor strike, refusing to perform the work that helps keep the privately operated detention center running. The action has drawn national attention to GEO Group, one of the largest private prison and detention companies in the United States, and its long-standing reliance on detainee forced labor.
The protests come amid growing concerns about conditions inside immigration detention facilities and weakening oversight across the system. Just weeks after the federal government shut down the only independent office responsible for investigating complaints in detention centers, detainees at Delaney Hall are alleging abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
“a system that has turned human suffering into a business”
Detainees reportedly began striking at Delaney Hall on May 29, refusing food and refusing to work in protest of conditions inside the facility. People held at Delaney Hall reportedly clean bathrooms, serve meals, and perform other essential jobs for as little as $1 a day.
According to the Prospect,
About half of all of those kidnapped by ICE are working in the facilities, according to Georgetown Law. That allows GEO Group executives to avoid the overhead cost of hiring an outside workforce, which would cut into their revenue, which was $705.2 million for the first quarter, a 17 percent increase over last year.
US Senator Andy Kim, who visited protesters outside the facility, said detainees were being paid “next to nothing” and that he had also heard reports of people being required to work without compensation.
Although ICE classifies these jobs as part of a “Voluntary Work Program,” detainees and advocates argue that the system is voluntary in name only. Detainees who refuse work assignments have reportedly faced retaliation, including threats of transfer, isolation, or the loss of privileges. It gets worse. One advocate shared that some detainees get paid with “soda” for their work. She also said that some detainees use their own money to purchase supplies to do their jobs as they are not given sufficient supplies.