Private Prison Lobbyists Spend Millions To Keep Immigrants Locked Up

In 2010, the Department of Homeland Security adopted a bed quota that required Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain about 34,000 individuals on any given day. The quota certainly did not benefit immigrants -- but it did prove to be extraordinarily lucrative for the private prison companies that picked up the new business.

A report released last week by Grassroots Leadership, a Texas non-profit, details how private prison companies have spent five years lobbying the government, not only to maintain the quota, but to enact conservative immigration reform that would continue to ensure a steady flow of inmates into its detention centers.

“Payoff: How Congress Ensures Private Prison Profit with an Immigrant Detention,” says 62 percent of all ICE detention beds now are operated by for-profit prison companies. In fact, nine out of the 10 largest immigrant detention camps are private, with eight owned by only two corporations -- Corrections Corporation of America and the GEO Group. Those two corporations reaped about $500 million in 2014 alone.

To protect their interests, these companies -- particularly CCA -- have spent millions in conservative lobbying efforts.

“Contrary to private prison corporation claims that they do not lobby on issues related to immigration policy, between 2008 and 2014, CCA spent $10.56 million in quarters where they lobbied on issues related to immigrant detention and immigration reform,” the authors note.

http://www.ibtimes.com/report-private-prison-lobbyists-spend-millions-keep-immigrants-locked-1887875?ft=95p2z