Immigrant detainees forced in labor
According to The Washington Post
When I was at the Kino Border Initiative two months ago, we learned that when deportees were released from US detention facilities, their money was returned to them via check. The money included that which they had on them when they were picked up and that which they earned while in detention (see above).
Unfortunately when the detainees were dropped off in Nogales, Mexico, the checks were not very helpful. Migrants could not cash the checks at the banks along the border because many of the migrants did not have checking accounts and, if they did, they weren't from those banks along the border.
In order to cash their checks, the migrants would find money lenders who might give them $0.50 - $0.75 on the dollar. Therefore, if they had $100, they would be able to cash the check for $50 - $75. Not great but when you have nothing else, there's not much you can do. The migrants gets some money back and the money lenders that patrol the area where migrants are repatriated get their cut.
However, where the US government gets its cut is when those migrants deported never cash their checks. They might lose them in transit or never cash them because they do not have a bank account. In that case, the US government gets to keep the cash. I don't know if this works the same way when detainees are released from private detention facilities.
There are bigger challenges right now but this was one area where advocates for immigration reform had wanted to make our deportation system more humane.
Tens of thousands of immigrants detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were forced to work for $1 day, or for nothing at all — a violation of federal anti-slavery laws — a lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit, filed in 2014 against one of the largest private prison companies in the country, reached class-action status this week after a federal judge’s ruling. That means the case could involve as many as 60,000 immigrants who have been detained.
It’s the first time a class-action lawsuit accusing a private U.S. prison company of forced labor has been allowed to move forward.The original nine plaintiffs allege that the ICE facility at which they were being detained forced them to work for little to no pay. The detainees cleaned bathrooms, showers, toilets, windows, patient rooms and staff offices; waxed floors; and prepared and served meals. Those detainees who "volunteered" were paid $1 per hour while those who refused to "volunteer" were threatened with solitary confinement. A "nice" way to hold costs down if you are a private detention facility.
When I was at the Kino Border Initiative two months ago, we learned that when deportees were released from US detention facilities, their money was returned to them via check. The money included that which they had on them when they were picked up and that which they earned while in detention (see above).
Unfortunately when the detainees were dropped off in Nogales, Mexico, the checks were not very helpful. Migrants could not cash the checks at the banks along the border because many of the migrants did not have checking accounts and, if they did, they weren't from those banks along the border.
In order to cash their checks, the migrants would find money lenders who might give them $0.50 - $0.75 on the dollar. Therefore, if they had $100, they would be able to cash the check for $50 - $75. Not great but when you have nothing else, there's not much you can do. The migrants gets some money back and the money lenders that patrol the area where migrants are repatriated get their cut.
However, where the US government gets its cut is when those migrants deported never cash their checks. They might lose them in transit or never cash them because they do not have a bank account. In that case, the US government gets to keep the cash. I don't know if this works the same way when detainees are released from private detention facilities.
There are bigger challenges right now but this was one area where advocates for immigration reform had wanted to make our deportation system more humane.
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