Opinion ID: 4511551
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Work Programs in ICE Detention Facilities

Text: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) detains certain aliens during the pendency of removal proceedings or for other reasons related to enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws. ICE detains some of those aliens in facilities operated by private contractors. Appellant CoreCivic is a private contractor that operates several detention centers throughout the country, including the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, where Appellees were or are being held. 1 CoreCivic, as a private contractor operating an ICE detention facility, is subject to, and required to follow, the Performance-Based National Detention Standards (“PBNDS”), the operative version of which was promulgated in 2011 and revised in 2016. See U.S. Immigration & Customs Enf’t, Performance-Based National Detention Standards 2011 (rev. 2016), available at 1 CoreCivic operates the Stewart Detention Center through a contract with Stewart County, Georgia. The County is a party to an Intergovernmental Service Agreement with ICE, pursuant to which it detains aliens on ICE’s behalf. 5 Case: 18-15081 Date Filed: 02/28/2020 Page: 6 of 24 https://www.ice.gov/doclib/detention-standards/2011/pbnds2011r2016.pdf. The PBNDS are designed to ensure a safe and secure detention environment that meets detainees’ basic needs and is consistent with applicable legal requirements. The PBNDS state that detention centers may require all detainees to “maintain their immediate living areas in a neat and orderly manner” through certain “personal housekeeping” tasks such as “making their bunk beds daily,” “stacking loose papers,” and “keeping the floor free of debris.” Id. § 5.8(V)(C). Beyond these basic required tasks, detainees “shall not be required to work,” and all other “[w]ork assignments are voluntary.” Id. §§ 5.8(II)(2), 5.8(V)(C). As to voluntary work, the PBNDS further state that “[d]etainees shall be provided the opportunity to participate in a voluntary work program” through which they may earn monetary compensation.2 Id. §§ 5.8(I), 5.8(V)(A) (emphasis added). The purpose of such voluntary work programs is to reduce “[t]he negative impact of confinement . . . through decreased idleness, improved morale and fewer disciplinary incidents.” Id. § 5.8(II)(4). However, the facility administrator must operate the voluntary work program in compliance with the PBNDS, which regulate the selection of detainees, the hours of work (no more than 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week), the minimum compensation for completed work (at 2 Since 1950, Congress has authorized ICE and its predecessor agencies to pay detained aliens “for work performed” “while held in custody under the immigration laws.” 8 U.S.C. § 1555(d). 6 Case: 18-15081 Date Filed: 02/28/2020 Page: 7 of 24 least $1.00 per day), the number of work assignments a detainee can perform, and the conditions under which that work occurs. Id. §§ 5.8(V)(D)–(O). The PBNDS delegate the site-specific rules for each work program to the “facility administrator.” Id. § 5.8(V)(D). Detainees may be removed from the voluntary work program for causes such as “unsatisfactory performance” or “disruptive behavior,” or as a “sanction imposed . . . for an infraction of a facility rule, regulation or policy.” Id. § 5.8(V)(L). Additionally, the PBNDS specify that participants in the voluntary work program are “expected to be ready to report for work at the required time,” “may not leave an assignment without permission,” and “may not evade attendance and performance standards in assigned activities nor encourage others to do so.” Id. § 5.8(V)(M). The PBNDS otherwise provide for disciplinary action against detainees outside the context of the voluntary work program. See generally id. § 3.1. The PBNDS identify four categories of offenses and prescribe appropriate sanctions for each category. Id. §§ 3.1(V)(C), 3.1 app. A. Those categories are “greatest,” “high,” “high moderate,” and “low moderate.”3 Id. According to the PBNDS, all 3 For example, the PBNDS define “[r]efusing to clean assigned living area” as a “high moderate” offense, while “failing to keep self and living area in accordance with posted standards” is a “low moderate” offense. PBNDS § 3.1 app. A. While the PBNDS define “[e]ncouraging others to participate in a work stoppage or to refuse to work” as a “high” offense, there is no specific offense prescribed in the PBNDS for a detainee who, after signing up for the voluntary work program, refuses to complete his assigned tasks. See generally id. 7 Case: 18-15081 Date Filed: 02/28/2020 Page: 8 of 24 four categories of infractions are punishable by a “[l]oss of privileges”—including “commissary, vending machines, movies, recreation, etc.”—and a “[c]hange [in] housing,” among other sanctions. Id. § 3.1 app. A. Additionally, all but the lowest category of infractions are punishable by the initiation of criminal proceedings and “[d]isciplinary segregation” of varying length based on the severity of the infraction. Id.