GEO Group CEO George Foley makes no secret of his corporation’s stake in the boom, reports Business Insider. In a 2011 letter to shareholders, he assured them that “at the federal level, initiatives related to border enforcement and immigration detention with an emphasis on criminal alien populations … have continued to create demand for larger-scale, cost efficient facilities.” The escalating demand brought about by Operation Streamline has cost taxpayers $5.5 billion since the program’s inception – profits that flow straight into the coffers of the private prison industry.
As immigration reform gains momentum in Congress, enforcement and border security remain obstinate doctrine, while the idea of reducing our costly and inhumane reliance on detention and incarceration rarely enters the conversation. This is no accident – both CCA and GEO Group regularly lobby the House and Senate on immigration issues, and the industry has spent $45 million on lobbying and campaign contributions at the state and federal levels over the last decade. What’s more, members of the Gang of Eight – the architects of the Senate blueprint tasked with crafting a reform proposal – have significant ties to these companies. According to the Columbia Journalism Review, Senators John McCain (R-Arizona) and Marco Rubio (R-Florida) are top recipients of CCA and GEO Group funds, respectively, having received $32,146 and $27,300 in donations.
These relationships will require careful scrutiny moving forward. More importantly, those impacted by the immigration debate – like the Dreamers who disrupted a House hearing earlier this month – need to be part of the conversation. The CEOs who are getting rich by imprisoning undocumented immigrants are already being heard loud and clear in Washington. It’s long past time that the people most affected by their for-profit prison scheme get a voice, too.