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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The operator of one of the largest private prison systems in the United States is facing a class action lawsuit from formerly detained immigrants who say they were paid as little as $1 per day as part of “volunteer” work programs.

A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Maryland says three detained men from Cameroon who came to the U.S. seeking asylum were paid the low wages at the CoreCivic-run prison in New Mexico.

Attorney Joe Sellers says the men were not facing criminal charges and were being held while they sought asylum. Sellers says the men, who are now U.S. residents living in Maryland and Ohio, should have been paid prevalent wages.

The Nashville, Tennessee-based CoreCivic did not immediately return an email from The Associated Press.

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