Will the Justice Department’s Decision to Stop Using Private Prisons Affect Immigrants Being Detained Too?
On August 18, 2016, the Justice Department announced that it would no longer use private prisons to house people convicted of federal crimes. The Washington Post reported that private prison facilities were “both less safe and less effective” than prisons run by the government. This decision however, for complicated legal reasons, does not affect state-run prisons or the U.S. Marshals or Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees.
Advocates opposing private prisons have argued to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that ICE officials should also stop using private prisons. The director of the American Civil Liberties Union National Prison Project, recently stated, “ICE is the [federal] agency that has the biggest share of its prisoners and detainees in private prisons.” While the federal prison population has decreased significantly in recent years, “the same is not true” for ICE detainees.
Every day, people are detained in ICE centers. On average, about 33,000 ICE detainees are held in ICE detentions every day, and 46 of those detention centers are privately owned or operated. Between 60 and 70% of ICE detainees are held in private centers.
The major criticism about private and for-profit prisons is that they earn profits based on the number of beds they fill, and thus, have a strong economic incentive and interest to fill those beds with alleged criminals. Those opposing placing detainees in private facilities argue that private facilities’ operators fill their beds too often for detainees who are not criminals, or who are charged with minor offenses, or who commit offenses that rarely warrant time spent in jail. In short, decisions about who should be housed in a private facility are too often made on the basis of generating profits funded by taxpayers and may not be grounded on whether detaining particular individuals is appropriate on the merits. These private facilities often are extremely profitable. The other incentive for these for-profit facilities is to perform the bare minimum for this population in spite of the fact that many are not criminals or dangerous.
Homeland Secretary Jeh C. Johnson however has ordered the issue to be studied. He directed the Homeland Security Advisory Council, chaired by Judge William Webster, to evaluate whether the “immigration detention operations conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement should move in the same direction” as most other federal prisoners. The report is due November 30, 2016.
If your loved one is being wrongfully held in a detention center, whether privately owned or not, you have legal options. The Law Office of Perry A. Craft, PLLC, assists immigrants who have been charged with a crime and who are being held or detained illegally. Contact Nashville immigration attorney Perry A. Craft by calling 615-953-3808 or use this contact form.
Perry A. Craft has dedicated his life to helping people in need. He has tried, settled, or resolved numerous civil and criminal cases in State and Federal courts, and has represented teachers and administrators before school boards, administrative judges, and the state Board of Education. Learn more about Attorney Craft.