Image of the Day

The round-up of immigrants means that half of immigrant detainees
spend time in prison compared to just a quarter a decade ago. This human
bounty hunting shatters lives and families and costs taxpayers billions of
dollars, much of it paid to the private prison industry.
Lobbying for Lock-up
It’s not surprising that for-profit prison companies have lobbied hard
in Congress to maintain their cash cows—the drug war and the
criminalization of immigrants. The CCA 2010 Annual Report clearly
states the need for criminalization to continue by warning its investors:
“The demand for our facilities could be adversely affected by the
relaxation of enforcement efforts, leniency in conviction or parole
standards and sentencing practices or through the decriminalization of
certain activities that are currently proscribed by our criminal laws. For
instance, any changes with respect to drugs and controlled substances or
illegal immigration could affect the number of persons arrested, convicted
and sentenced, thereby potentially reducing demand for correctional
facilities to house them.”(p.19)
The report notes that three federal governmental agencies accounted
for 43% of total revenues in fiscal year 2010 ($717.8 million)—the Bureau
of Prisons (15%), Immigration and Customs Enforcement-ICE (12%) and
the US Marshalls Service (16%). It concludes, “We are dependent upon
the governmental agencies with which we have contracts to provide
inmates for our managed facilities.”
An AP story found that the private prison companies spent more than
$45 million in lobbying and campaigns in the last decade. According to a
Justice Policy Institute report, CCA spent an average of $900,000 a year
on federal lobbying over the past decade. That figure doesn’t count state
lobbying, where private prisons participate actively, or campaign
contributions. Read More
Environment:
Bolivia at UN talks: The climate is not for sale!