Jury Selection Starts in GEO Detainee Labor Trial
Jury selection began Monday in a class action alleging forced labor by detainees at GEO Group's Aurora, Colorado, detention facility.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Immigration
Live Poll
Should private companies running immigration detention centers be held liable for detainee labor abuses?
Jury selection began Monday for a trial over forced-labor claims against GEO Group at the Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora. The class action, led by Alejandro Menocal, alleges detainees were required to work without adequate pay.
Why it matters
The case tests whether private contractors running immigration detention can be held liable under federal anti-trafficking law for detainee labor. Its outcome could affect wage and labor practices at detention facilities serving Aurora and the wider Colorado region.
The trial is in jury selection with nine named plaintiffs, and it is expected to last three weeks. The court has not yet ruled on the merits, and GEO's appeal status and the verdict remain pending.
The players
GEO Group
A private prison and detention company that operates the Denver Contract Detention Facility in Aurora under contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Alejandro Menocal
A former detainee who was held at the Aurora facility for three months in 2014 and leads the class action against GEO Group.
The details
Detainees at the Aurora facility, held from 2004 to 2014, allegedly were assigned tasks such as cleaning medical facility toilets, stripping and waxing floors and doing laundry, with refusals reportedly risking solitary confinement. GEO says it followed orders from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Congress, which directed a voluntary work program paying at least $1 per day.
Timeline
2004 to 2014: Class of immigrants detained at the Denver Contract Detention Facility.
2014: Lawsuit against GEO Group filed; Menocal held for three months that summer.
February 2026: U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case.
Oct. 23, 2026: GEO filed a new appeal.
Nov. 2, 2026: Jury selection began.
Legal Context
The case applies the Trafficking Victims Protection Act's forced-labor prohibitions to a private contractor operating immigration detention, a question that has drawn scrutiny from courts and advocates. Its verdict could shape how similar wage and labor claims against detention operators are handled in other jurisdictions.
Residents near the Aurora facility and workers in the region may follow how detention labor practices are judged, which bears on oversight of facilities in their community. The trial outcome could also influence how detainee work programs are structured locally.
The takeaway
Detention labor disputes often turn on how federal contracts define voluntary work and pay, so the trial's findings may clarify those terms for future cases. Readers can track the verdict to see how courts apply anti-trafficking law to private detention operators.
What happens next
Jury selection began Monday and the trial is expected to last three weeks, so a verdict is anticipated within that window.
Further reading
For broader background, explore Immigration coverage on Wisevoter.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Court House News Service.
Live Poll
Should private companies running immigration detention centers be held liable for detainee labor abuses?
