The Immigration Reform Fight - Private Corrections Companies Lobbying Congress

[Santi 353]

As per an article on the Financial Times...

http://www.ft.com/in...l#axzz2O0p5LaJz

(Not sure if anyone else will be able to read it, though)

To briefly summarize:

Private Corrections Companies - read: Private Prisons - have joined the fight against comprehensive immigration reform. Two of the biggest ones, Corrections Corporation of America (http://en.wikipedia....ion_of_America) and The Geo Group (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEO_Group), have collectively invested around $10 million to lobby government officials to be against a comprehensive reform to our flawed immigration system. These private prison companies operate many detention centers that currently house a significant number of undocumented immigrants. Their business model allows them to profit from the amount of individuals they can keep imprisoned...the more, the merrier. Since many of these companies are publicly listed (they have sold parts or their business or their whole business to private investors in the stock market), they have to maximize shareholder value - read: make money for the owners/investors. Therefore, they are going to 'try' to 'persuade' respective government officials to not only keep the immigration system as it is, but also to make it more draconian (worse), so they can increase profitability (forecast). However, they claim that their lobbying efforts are within the rule of law (snickers). Some numbers to give you an idea of who these companies are:

• Geo Group earned $1.6 billion in Revenues 2011, and earned around $70 million in profit for the same year
  
• The Geo Group also operates prisons in other parts of the world (Australia, UK, South Africa)
  
• ICE accounted for about 14% of their Revenues (2011)
  
• Significant Operations in CA, TX, FL
  

• CCA earned $1.7 billion in Revenues 2011, and earned around $160 million in profit for the same year
  
• CCA Operates in 20 states, and it is 'the largest owner and operator of privatized correctional and detention facilities in the US, behind the Federal Government and 3 states
  
• ICE accounted for about 12% of their Revenues (2011)
  

I am a die-hard capitalist, and I love when companies make money - but I am completely against what these guys do. The Geo Group has been criticized for alleged human rights abuses, negligence, lack of medical care for inmates, among others. CCA's record is not better either.

Further reading:

http://www.globalres...of-slavery/8289

http://www.counterpu...-of-immigrants/

http://www.huffingto..._n_1731736.html

[Calidreamer 100]

I got to say I'm not surprised, this would not be the first time the CCA and the Geo Group got involved in politics 'n immigration issues, remember that through their ties to the Arizona Legislature they ensure the passage of S.B. 1070. The idea is to buy up state prisons or open up new ones when expansion is justified. There’s something called the Corrections Investment Initiative between the companies and the states that requires a guarantee of 90 percent occupancy rate over the term of the contract, that means the states must come up with prisoners from somewhere and what better way to do this than to go after the undocumented immigrants.

We got to see how persuasive they are with the GOP, they already saw that the got to convince Latinos of their "good intentions" if they wish to get to office in 2016.

On the other hand Obama wants to give us legal status...

Sooooo yeah, just saying

[Santi 353]

I got to say I'm not surprised, this would not be the first time the CCA and the Geo Group got involved in politics 'n immigration issues, remember that through their ties to the Arizona Legislature they ensure the passage of S.B. 1070. The idea is to buy up state prisons or open up new ones when expansion is justified. There’s something called the Corrections Investment Initiative between the companies and the states that requires a guarantee of 90 percent occupancy rate over the term of the contract, that means the states must come up with prisoners from somewhere and what better way to do this than to go after the undocumented immigrants.

We got to see how persuasive they are with the GOP, they already saw that the got to convince Latinos of their "good intentions" if they wish to get to office in 2016.

On the other hand Obama wants to give us legal status...

Sooooo yeah, just saying

@Cali...

[Calidreamer 100]

Oh you are so very entertaining

@ ItNAs

[Osha 126]

There are few well-financed evil people in positions of power and they control so much of the government, the U.S government is an auction and only the wealthy among-st us get to participate. Our politicians are bought by the highest bidders to make laws that benefit them rather than making laws that benefit the general public. Capitalism is pissing all over the constitution. Everything nowadays is about money and power, nothing else. These disgusting and morally reprehensible prison lobbyist, they are not going to win this fight this time around, but leave no doubt, they will get something out of whatever immigration law Congress happens to pass this summer.