GEO Group to pay $100,000 settlement in California ICE detention center case

The private immigration detention firm GEO Group has agreed to pay more than $100,000 to settle a California lawsuit alleging it failed to keep detained immigrants safe while they worked inside the Golden State Annex facility in McFarland. The settlement follows Cal/OSHA citations that the company did not prevent the spread of COVID‑19 and violated workplace safety standards, marking the first time a state treated detainees as workers subject to labor law. Under the agreement GEO Group will improve disease‑control plans and accept state jurisdiction over its operations, prompting the state to drop its citations.

The case is part of broader disputes over privately‑operated ICE detention centers in California, where eight facilities house thousands of detainees who receive $1 a day for work. Recent federal actions, including a judge ordering inspection of the Otay Mesa center, and ICE’s updated contractor standards that deny detainees wage protections, reflect ongoing tension between federal immigration authorities and state regulators.