The government programs behind this surge in detentions include initiatives known as 287(g) and Secure Communities, which authorize state and local law enforcement, and local jails and prisons, respectively, to look up the immigration status of suspected criminals. Individuals who are found to be undocumented may be placed into deportation cases and potentially detained. Another important program is Operation Streamline, which increased the penalties for illegal border crossers, with the result that many serve time in federal prisons for designated immigration offenders. Some of these prisons are operated by CCA and GEO Group.
And as is usually the case for companies that do big business with the government, the private prison industry is active on the lobbying front. Records from the Lobbying Disclosure Act database show that both CCA and GEO Group have regularly lobbied the House and Senate, as well as executive-branch agencies, on immigration-related matters in recent years. But both companies say that while they lobby the government to obtain contracts, they never seek to shape the policy that determines who is detained.
“It is CCA’s longstanding policy not to draft, lobby for or in any way promote detention enforcement legislation,” CCA spokesman Steve Owen said in an email. “That means CCA does not take a position on or advocate for or against any specific immigration reform legislation nor does our government relations team on our behalf.”
GEO Group spokesman Pablo E. Paez replied in an email that “the GEO Group has never directly or indirectly lobbied or advocated to influence immigration policy.”
These claims of a hands-off approach to immigration policy debates have been called into question in the past, however. A 2010 investigation by NPR found that CCA had participated in a “quiet, behind-the-scenes effort to help draft and pass” the controversial Arizona law that allowed police to demand papers from individuals who were suspected of being undocumented immigrants and lock up those who failed to provide them. Most of that law has since been struck down by the Supreme Court.
When asked whether CCA had lobbied Sen. Alexander regarding immigration enforcement or reform, Alexander spokesman Jim Jeffries replied in an email: “Corrections Corporation of America is an important Tennessee company. Sen. Alexander and his staff have hundreds of conversations a week with his constituents and he believes they are entitled not to have those conversations publicly reported.” (Throughout his career, Alexander has enjoyed close ties to CCA: his former special assistant, Charles L. Overby, sits on CCA’s board. And his wife, Honey, made an early $5,000 investment in CCA in the first part of a transaction that later came under scrutiny.)
In reply to an inquiry about whether Sen. McCain had discussed either Operation Streamline or pending immigration reform proposals with CCA, McCain spokesman Brian Rogers replied that the enforcement program “will continue whether or not Congress passes comprehensive immigration reform. Senator McCain supports Operation Streamline because it works.”
A spokesperson for Sen. Corker said he was traveling overseas and unable to respond. Sen. Rubio’s office did not respond to email and telephone inquiries.
Impact of reform unclear
While the companies insist that they do not seek to shape immigration policy, the private prison industry has at times acknowledged its business could be affected by the reform debate. “Immigration reform laws which are currently a focus for legislators and politicians at the federal, state and local level also could materially adversely impact us,” the GEO Group declared in a 2011 SEC filing. And with the White House saying its goals for reform include “expanding alternatives to detention and reducing overall detention costs,” the limited media coverage so far has focused on potential losses for the industry. “Private prisons will get totally slammed by immigration reform,” read the headline on a Feb. 2 Business Insider piece.
While campaign contributions aren't chicken feed, inquiring minds would like to know which politicians, regardless of party, are backing today's increased immigration of welfare supported criminality, as well as profitably investing in the prison systems of CCA/GEO and GEO. For that matter, which politicians are backing today's perpetual increase of welfare supported, home grown criminality, while also profiting from the increased power and money needed to deal with the corollary increase of social hostility, criminal perpetrated financial losses and the increased expenses of detention.
Additionally which corporations are profitably invested in CCA/GEO, while also demanding further influx of Mexico's lowest common economic denominators, gaining both cheap labor from those preferring to work for a living, as well as profit producing prison fodder from the criminal rest. Indeed, which corporations are "proudly" demanding all lower class, low skilled immigration (it's for the poor, don't ya know) while depending on American welfare state taxation to pay for whatever their low wages don't. And where do these corporations hide their profits from the tax man, so that a low wage/tax dependent American population is corporation profitable (and what politicians are helping them do it.) Or was this just a liberal hit piece on 4 Republican pols.
#1 Posted by JR, CJR on Thu 21 Feb 2013 at 10:13 AM
Personally, I don't understand what makes him an attractive candidate. He has long been a supporter of restrictionary immigration policy (something we know latinos in the US are against) and Marco Rubio's immigration reform bill that he proposed recently actually increases the use of E-Verify. I don't see Rubio's appeal to Latinos, he certainly is not an appealing candidate to me.
#2 Posted by Mohammad, CJR on Thu 21 Feb 2013 at 11:57 AM
Interesting window on the reform. But the idea that the shape of the reform is somehow mysterious is wrong. Broadly-speaking, what will be hailed by business and progressives as "immigration reform" (and cursed by nativists and bigots as "amnesty") will as far as possible seek to increase the uncertainty experienced by illegal immigrants while paradoxically decreasing the uncertainty experienced by their corporate exploiters.
We know this because the debate's major players are in view, and because, logically, the interests of the players are easy to understand in terms of wage arbitrage.
If a typical Mexican wage earner makes X and a U.S. worker in the same job makes, say, 4X, it will be in the parties' interest (all the parties except, of course, the U.S. worker) to come to a compromise wage in the neighborhood of 2x.
Because minimum wage and maximum hour laws make a wage of 2x illegal, it is necessary to create or impose--or at least encourage--a sort of twilight legal status for the workers who would accept 2x.
Everything about the way our immigration policy works in practice can be understood in these terms, and no others.
#3 Posted by Edward Ericson Jr., CJR on Fri 22 Feb 2013 at 01:15 PM
Interesting and appreciated article: for whatever reason the severity of chronicaly UNEMPLOYED Veterans and American Citizens, needs to be a stronger priority than, the redundancy of IMMIGRATION policy.
Many Black urban areas are repeatedly agonized with the violence, crime and toxic waste generated by multitudes of abandoned manufacturing plants- that left communities of Black residents adjacant to industrial districts.
And now everyone insist on other people 'Just Wanting the American Dream': we too want to enjoy the many incredible features, technological advances, educational opportunities available through-our country.
Millions of our race are either on probation, parole, incarcerated already- no one in the power circles are prioritizing the survivability secondary impacts of the economic nightmares that demoralize evenmore of Millions who are not probation, parole nor incarcerated.
There is no country, or nation for us to go' home to because we are the D.N.A. fiber of Americana; and everytime an article and another announcemnt about prioritizing the benefits and woes IMMIGRATION gets announced, the reputaion of the future legacy of great beloved United States takes, yet another damaging deduction in the analysis of genuine HUMANITY !!!
None of us, can go to the other nations' and do what has and is being done here, and in the end result Congress and the news media need to understand that civility and HUMANITY are inter-twined and once we leap into trying to establish a new 21st century W.P.A. for unemployed Veterans and American citizens' then the likely-hood of more relaxes IMMIGRATION attitudes will more easily occur, ( probably )- but with our Black African American: current status of UNEMPLOYED, imprisoned, and Utility companiesincreasing un-imagined rates and fees; alongside, local and state governments over-exaggerating Personal Real Estate Taxes'
It's kind of hard to shift focus from our own PERILS to others' who biggest argument: remains they just want the "AMERICAN DREAM"; because so do we, and along through now, Veterans and many UNEMPLOYED American Citizens are enduring the worst-ever "Reality NIGHTMARES".
And THANK YOU, I hope this makes any sense and is not misinterpreted as being insensitive, or off-point.
Marvin S. Robinson, II
Quindaro Ruins / Underground Railroad- Exercise 2013
#4 Posted by Marvin S. Robinson, II, CJR on Thu 28 Feb 2013 at 06:03 PM
Keep up this extraordinary research and reporting.!
Please update the revolving door between private prison firms and HLS ICE.For example, Charles L. Overby, CCA, is now an executive with ICE. Can you document the experience of ICE Executives coming from Private prison firms, and vice-versa?
Can you expand your report of campaign donations from the private prison business to other members of congress?
#5 Posted by Edward Quinones, CJR on Wed 6 Mar 2013 at 02:26 PM