Detention Watch Network releases date on private prison influence on immigration detention

T

he Detention Watch Network has released some terrific data and graphs on the private prison industry's role in the United States' immigrant detention system.  (Full disclosure: I'm on the Steering Committee of DWN, and Grassroots Leadership helped compile this research).  Amongst the interesting findings, 49% of all immigrant detention beds in the United States are operated by private prison corporations. That is higher percentage of privatized beds than nearly any other state or federal agency.

Texas has more private immigrant detention beds - more than 10,000 - than any other state.  Furthermore, some of the largest immigrant detention centers in the country are in Texas, including MTC's Willacy County Processing Center and GEO Group's South Texas Detention Center. The report includes a complete breakdown of every major private detention center by average daily population.

Furthermore, the report tracks the federal lobbying and influence exerted by the private prison industry to ensure its  interests are met.  According to the report:

"Between the five corporations with ICE contracts for which official federal lobbying records are currently available, the total expenditure on lobbying for 1999-2009 was $20,432,000.(1) In general, corporations lobbied both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Most companies also lobbied the Department of Homeland Security, the agency that oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The larger corporations (CCA and GEO) lobbied a variety of entities related to immigration policy, including the Department of Justice, the Bureau of Prisons, and the Office of Management and Budget. Both CCA and GEO reported lobbying ICE directly."

The full report and data are well worth a read.  Check them out here.