Private, for-profit detention centers have been around for years. It is a growing business that makes companies, not only in the United States but the world, a great deal of money. The number of people detained in for-profit detention centers is growing, and as the current administration finds new ways to detain the thousands of immigrants that cross our borders, the taxpayers are distracted and placated to keep this enterprise going.
By 2016, two of the major players of this human money-making scheme were GEO Group and CoreCivic. Both companies have contributed to PACs on both sides of the aisle as well as Trump's inaugural committee. Like Halliburton's involvement in the Iraq War, these two companies are entwined in the current administration and have powerful lobbyists campaigning to keep the immigrants in their crudely constructed detention centers for financial gains.
As an article from Wear Your Voice summarizes reporting from The Observer,
GEO Group, and CoreCivic also manages the concentration camps and migrant detention centers throughout the U.S. and in 2017 they earned a combined $985 million from ICE contracts. Both companies donated $250,000 to Trump's inaugural committee with GEO Group also donating $225,000 to a Trump Super PAC in the 2016 election.
But they are just the big guys in this enterprise. Right behind them are some of the most well-known companies in the United States that have been granted contracts with ICE.
Freedom For Immigrants has compiled federal government data that show Texas has the most detained immigrants (15,852) with California at less than half the amount (6,527), and Arizona, Georgia, and Louisiana each less than half of California. But here is the incentive to keep these detainees if possible: It costs Texas approximately $150 per person per day for a total of $2,377,800 each day. This includes the cost of guards, healthcare, meals, and other direct costs.
Imagine a family of four are held in one of these detention centers. Every day they are there it is costing the taxpayers $600.00. If they are kept there for a minimum of 21 days, it costs $12,600.
So, why don't our representatives stop this from happening? Three of the representatives most involved in this enterprise are Rep. John Culberson, Rep. Henry Cuellar, and Rep. John Carter. GEO Group's PAC and executives have given $32,900 to Culberson, making them his largest donor. The other private prison company, CoreCivic, gave Culberson $11,000. Cueller received $32,400 form GEO Group and CoreCivic gave Cuellar $1,500. Carter received $31,600 from GEO Group.
Another important part of this puzzle is the shareholders of each of these companies. Geo Group Inc is owned by The Vanguard Group, Blackrock, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management, and Artemis Investment Management. Chances are some of these companies manager your investments or 401k.
The five largest shareholders in CoreCivic are The Vanguard Group, Blackrock, Fidelity/FMR LLC, State Street Corp., and Prudential Financial Inc. as well as Wells Fargo, but not as their banking entity but a large shareholder.
So, as the president is boasting to the masses at his rallies about how great your 401k looks, now you know part of the reason why. Once the industry dries up like the housing market and every other get rich quick scheme big corporations come up with to line their coffers, your 401k will dry up and you will have to start all over again building a nest egg for the next company to pillage.
- Children Are Innocent ›
- On the Issues: Where The Candidates Stand ›
- what you need to know about the homestead detention center ›
- Homestead is America's only for-profit detention center for migrant ... ›
- Profiting from Enforcement: The Role of Private Prisons in U.S. ... ›
- Immigrant detention has become a booming business for for-profit ... ›
- Detention center contractors will keep reaping profit even after DHS ... ›
- For Private Prisons, Detaining Immigrants Is Big Business - The New ... ›
- Businesses Serving Immigration Detention Under Fire, And Try To ... ›
- Ending Private Prisons and Exploitation for Profit - Team Warren ... ›
- Housing Migrants Is For-Profit Business - Members of Congress ... ›
- First stop for migrant kids: For-profit detention center - Reuters ›
- Private Companies Are Cashing in on ICE's Detention Centers | GQ ›