Inside US detention centers, hunger strikes highlight abuse and exploitative labor

In immigration detention centers across the United States, detainees are refusing food—and in some cases refusing to work—because conditions have become unbearable. From Michigan to Pennsylvania, hunger strikes are exposing a system marked by abuse, neglect, and forced labor inside facilities run by private contractors like GEO Group.

Hunger strikes spread across detention centers

This week, hundreds of detainees at the North Lake Processing Center in Michigan launched a coordinated hunger strike. According to reporting by Newsweek, around 300 people have refused food, with some also refusing work assignments inside the facility.

In a translated statement emailed by No Detention Centers in Michigan, an immigrant advocacy group, one man wrote:

We are being held prisoner arbitrarily. The majority of us meet all the requirements to be released, yet judges capriciously deny us bond and the basic rights to which we are entitled. We need to get out of here and to be treated like human beings.

The North Lake facility has a long history of unrest. Between 2019 and 2022, when it operated as a federal prison for migrants, multiple hunger strikes and reported deaths drew national attention.

Now, similar protests are emerging elsewhere. In Pennsylvania, roughly 100 men detained at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center have also gone on hunger strike. Their protest began after staff allegedly ignored a detainee in medical distress.

According to Reason, a source inside the facility said:

He vomited a green substance and fainted… His body was white. He was shaking and sweating and officials paid no attention to him.

Others described similarly dire conditions: “We have found worms in our water, bugs in our food… The conditions here are terrible.”

Reports from other states point to the same pattern. In Florida, court filings allege that guards beat and pepper-sprayed detainees who protested losing access to phones. One attorney stated that “an officer came in and punched [a detainee]… and began to beat him,” while others were sprayed, leaving one person unconscious because he “could not breathe.”

Taken together, these accounts show that the crisis extends far beyond a single facility.

Who profits from the suffering

The hunger strikes are not only about conditions—they also expose how detention centers rely on detainee labor.

Inside these facilities, detainees carry out essential work such as cooking, cleaning, and maintenance. At North Lake, participants have explicitly linked their hunger strike to a labor strike, refusing to continue this work under current conditions.

Private operators like GEO Group receive billions in government contracts to run detention centers. At the same time, they benefit from a captive workforce that helps keep facilities running at low cost. Although these work programs are often described as “voluntary,” multiple lawsuits and investigations have shown that they can be coercive.

When detainees face indefinite confinement, inadequate food, and limited access to basic necessities, the pressure to work intensifies. Refusing to work can come at a cost, including solitary confinement, loss of visitation, or retaliation that may affect immigration cases.

Take action

The spread of hunger strikes across states highlights how the system depends on both confinement and labor, while failing to meet basic standards of care. As protests grow, so does scrutiny of how these facilities operate—and who profits from them.

Under the 13th Amendment of the US Constitution, involuntary servitude remains legal as punishment for a crime, which Freedom United is challenging. However, these people are not serving criminal sentences and they are still being subjected to forced labor. Many have been taken into custody while following the law—during civil immigration proceedings. Many are survivors of human trafficking, legally allowed to await decisions on their visa applications in the US.

Sign and share our petition against GEO Group and demand an end to profit-driven detention that relies on exploitation.