Trump, DACA Dreamers, Immigration & Private Prisons

President Trump issued an executive order directing immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) to locate and lockup undocumented immigrants. Ice’s new policy included imprisoning undocumented immigrants without a criminal record.

During September, Attorney General Sessions ended the protection for Daca Dreamers. The dreamers are undocumented immigrants, who were brought to the United States as children–many were under the age of ten. Now, the dreamers are in high schools, colleges, and our military.Without legal protection from deportation, almost 800,000 dreamers would overwhelm a strained federal system of incarcerated immigrants.

In 2017, individuals detained without any criminal record by ICE increased more than 50 percent. Inmate deaths in Ice prisons were 10 in 2016 and 8 already by May 31, 2017.

Seven of the eight deaths in 2017 occurred in Ice facilities managed and controlled by private prison companies. The Obama administration’s justice reform policy in 2016 included eliminating federal private prisons. The Office of Inspector General’s 2016 memo on private federal facilities concluded they were less safe, secure, and did not save substantial money. Pres. Trump and his administration had different ideas about the use of private prisons.

Trump’s new attorney general, J. Sessions, announced the reversal of Obama’s policies on private prison companies. Before Session’s announcement in February, there were financial ties between Trump and private prison companies.

Private prison companies had financial ties to Trump’s election and inauguration. GEO Group, one of the nation’s largest for-profit prison operators, donated $250,000 to support Trump’s inaugural festivities. A Geo subsidiary contributed $250,000 to a super PAC which supported Trump for his 2016 presidential election. Another prison operator, CoreCivic, gave $250,000 to support Trump’s inauguration.

On April 13, the GEO Group was awarded a ten-year contract for a $110 million, 1,000-bed immigration detention center in Texas.

Geo with three facilities in Arizona, reported in May, a substantial increase in profits under President Donald Trump’s administration. The Geo Group stated that increased detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was the cause for its higher profits ($50 million for 2017-1st quarter). CEO George Zooley anticipates higher profits for the following quarters.

Since Trump’s election, GEO, has increased from a low of $13 in 2016, to $26.87 and CoreCivic has increased almost 20% percent this year to $26.29.

Trump’s 2017, has shown Trump’s close financial ties to private prisons, Trump’s administration increased locking up of immigrants without criminal records, private prison companies now enjoying fatter profits, and more immigrants dying in federal facilities– operated by private prison companies.

By: Bradley Schwartz
Founder of prisonpath.com
Prison consultant