Menocal v. The GEO Group, Inc.
Case Overview
Class action by Aurora immigration detainees alleging GEO Group violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) through forced labor under threat of solitary confinement (mandatory sanitation program) and unjust enrichment via the $1/day Voluntary Work Program. Two classes certified. SCOTUS affirmed Feb 2026 that Yearsley immunity is a merits defense, not jurisdictional. The case returns to D. Colo. for merits trial.
The Application
GEO Group operates detention facilities under federal contract and faces allegations of forced labor through a mandatory sanitation program and economic exploitation via a $1/day work program. The company must now defend these specific claims on the merits by demonstrating its conduct was authorized by and pursuant to its government contract.
The Conclusion
Two classes of detainees certified; case returns to D. Colo. for merits trial on whether the TVPA and unjust enrichment claims survive GEO Group's Yearsley immunity defense.
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No Supreme Court data for this case.
Case Analysis
Overview
Class action by Aurora immigration detainees alleging GEO Group violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) through forced labor under threat of solitary confinement (mandatory sanitation program) and unjust enrichment via the $1/day Voluntary Work Program. Two classes certified. SCOTUS affirmed Feb 2026 that Yearsley immunity is a merits defense, not jurisdictional. Case returns to D. Colo. For merits trial.
Issue
Whether GEO Group's operation of immigration detention facilities through mandatory work programs and threatened solitary confinement violates the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and unjust enrichment laws, and whether Yearsley immunity shields the contractor from liability.
Rule
Yearsley immunity protects government contractors from liability when acting pursuant to a government contract; the Supreme Court held this immunity is a merits defense rather than a jurisdictional bar that can dismiss the case at the pleadings stage.
Analysis
GEO Group operates detention facilities under federal contract and faces allegations of forced labor through a mandatory sanitation program and economic exploitation via a $1/day work program. The company must now defend these specific claims on the merits by demonstrating its conduct was authorized by and pursuant to its government contract.
Conclusion
Two classes of detainees certified; case returns to D. Colo. for merits trial on whether the TVPA and unjust enrichment claims survive GEO Group's Yearsley immunity defense.
Notes
Lead plaintiff: Alejandro Menocal. Counsel: Towards Justice et al. Class cert affirmed 10th Cir. 2018 (17-1125). SCOTUS denied interlocutory immunity appeal Feb 2026 (24-758). Still active at D. Colo.
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