\n<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON — <\/span>WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The Supreme Court<\/a> on Wednesday ruled against a private prison company facing a lawsuit alleging immigration detainees were forced to work and paid only $1 a day in Colorado.<\/p>\n The unanimous ruling is a procedural defeat for the GEO Group, but it’s not a final decision. The company is fighting a lawsuit from 2014 alleging detainees in Aurora had to perform unpaid janitorial work and other jobs for little pay to supplement meager meals.<\/p>\n GEO defended its practices and argued that the case should be tossed out because it’s immune from lawsuits as a government contractor. <\/p>\n After a judge disagreed, the company asked the Supreme Court to allow it to quickly appeal the ruling. But the justices refused. <\/p>\n The Florida-based GEO Group is one of the top private detention providers in the country, with management or ownership of about 77,000 beds at 98 facilities. Its contracts include a new federal immigration detention center where Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka<\/a> was arrested at a protest<\/a> in May 2025, before the case against the Democrat was dropped.<\/p>\n Similar lawsuits have been brought on behalf of immigration detainees elsewhere, including a case in Washington state<\/a>, where the company was ordered to pay more than $23 million.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/us-supreme-court<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n