Justices won't open shortcut for ICE contractor facing forced labor suit [View all]

Source: Courthouse News Service

February 25, 2026


WASHINGTON (CN) — The Supreme Court on Friday shut down a bid by GEO Group, which operates private detention facilities, for help fending off claims its facility profited from detainee labor. The group had asked the court for an interlocutory appeal, meaning its sovereign immunity claim would be decided before the merits of the detainees’ claims.

The justices unanimously disagreed, ruling that federal contractors could only use federal protections as a merits defense, not complete immunity from a suit.

“Because [Yearsley v. Ross Construction ] provides a defense to liability, not an immunity from suit, an order denying its protection can be effectively reviewed after a final judgment,” Justice Elena Kagan, a Barack Obama appointee, wrote for the court. “So appellate review of such an order, as of most pretrial rulings, must await completion of the district court’s proceedings.”

The 1940 case created a test for contractors facing liability for work on government projects. But Kagan said Yearsley ’s protections differed from the sovereign immunity that can be wielded by the government. She said that while immunity equates to an entitlement not to stand trial, a liability defense is of lesser value. “Because it establishes that the defendant acted lawfully, a valid defense leads to a judgment of non-liability,” Kagan wrote. “But it does not allow the defendant to escape the varied rigors and costs of legal proceedings. Indeed, it is in and through those proceedings that the asserted defense is addressed and liability finally determined.”

Read more: https://courthousenews.com/justices-wont-open-shortcut-for-ice-contractor-facing-forced-labor-suit/