蜜桃传媒 and Project South Seek Appeal of Decision Denying Class Certification in Forced Labor Lawsuit
础罢尝础狈罢础听鈥� This week, the聽Southern Poverty Law Center听(厂笔尝颁),听聽and pro bono counsel,听,听petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit聽to overturn a federal district court decision denying class certification to individuals who are suing private prison operator CoreCivic, Inc. for forced labor violations while they were detained at the Stewart Detention Center.
The plaintiffs in the case 鈥撀�Barrientos v. CoreCivic, Inc.聽鈥� sought class certification on behalf of approximately 32,000 detained immigrants who were forced to work for as little as $1 a day cleaning, cooking and performing maintenance duties under threat of punishment, including solitary confinement, and loss of basic necessities. These actions were part of a scheme to maximize CoreCivic鈥檚 profits, according to the lawsuit filed in 2018.
In a聽March 28聽ruling, a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia denied the plaintiffs鈥� request for class certification but did not rule on the merits of the case, noting that the plaintiffs and other individuals detained at the Stewart Detention Center may have individual forced labor and unjust enrichment claims.
鈥�This is the next step in our fight to seek justice for the harms the plaintiffs 鈥� and thousands of detained individuals who worked for nearly free at Stewart Detention Center 鈥� suffered,鈥� said聽Meredith Stewart, attorney for the 蜜桃传媒鈥檚聽Immigrant Justice Project.听鈥淐oreCivic鈥檚 practices uniformly applied to detained individuals at Stewart who faced punishment and deprivation of basic necessities, like food, if they did not perform labor for CoreCivic. These practices violate our nation鈥檚 anti-trafficking laws and no private prison company is above the law.鈥�
鈥淭he private prison corporation CoreCivic is exploiting the forced labor of detained migrants to enrich itself. It must be stopped,鈥� said聽Azadeh Shahshahani, legal and advocacy director at聽.听
Read more about the case and view other filings聽here.听
# # #
About the Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people. For more information, visit聽.
Project South聽is a social justice organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. Our mission is to cultivate strong social movements in the South powerful enough to contend with some of the most pressing and complicated social, economic, and political problems we face today. The Legal & Advocacy department of Project South connects movement lawyers with grassroots organizations and campaigns focusing on dismantling state repression and protecting immigrants鈥� rights and Muslim communities. Our work is also focused on connecting with and supporting social justice movements in the Global South. Learn more at聽. Follow Project South on social media: @聽on Twitter,听聽on Facebook, and聽聽on Instagram.
