HSPRD Wins Important Ruling In Forced Immigrant Labor Case

Important ruling in forced immigrant labor case in McHenry County Jail in Woodstock, IL.
McHenry County Jail in Woodstock | Photo: Google Street View

Yesterday, Judge Iain D. Johnston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois denied Defendants’ motion to dismiss HSPRD’s forced labor class action brought under the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA).  

HSPRD attorneys Margaret Truesdale and Elizabeth Mazur, along with co-counsel Raphael Janove of Pollock Cohen, LLC, Jay Kumar, and Jacob Briskman, are pursuing this class action on behalf of immigrants who were detained at the McHenry County Detention Center in Woodstock, Illinois. The suit alleges that McHenry County made tens of millions from housing immigrants while forcing the detainees to perform janitorial labor without compensation. Plaintiffs and the class members were threatened with solitary confinement and other serious punishments if they refused to work. 

Since 2003, McHenry County received more than $41 million in revenue from its contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to house immigrant detainees. 

The Court’s Order is available here
Chicago Tribune’s Forced Labor Article

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