A federal judge in Washington has declared a mistrial in a challenge to GEO Group Inc's practice of paying immigrant detainees who participate in a work program $1 a day, after a jury deadlocked during three days of deliberations.
GEO in its motion said the nine-person jury had been unable to come to a unanimous verdict on the company's claim that it was entitled to governmental immunity because it operated a detention center in Tacoma under a government contract.
Jamal Whitehead of Schroeter Goldmark & Bender, the lead lawyer for the detainees, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nor did GEO and its lead lawyer, Joan Mell of III Branches Law Firm. GEO had pushed for an in-person trial. The company said virtual proceedings were inappropriate because the case involves thousands of detainees and hundreds of exhibits, and was too complex to be heard by a remote jury that could become distracted or have technical issues.
In the class-action lawsuit, a group of detainees at the 1,575-bed facility said the company paid them $1 per day to clean, do laundry, wash dishes and staff a barber shop and library. Regulations adopted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2011 require private detention center operators to pay detainees at least $1 per day for their labor.
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