12/18/2024
Exclusive: Donald Trump’s plan for the mass deportation of undocumented people and a related expansion of US detention facilities is getting an unexpected head start from Joe Biden - and private prison companies are already cashing in.
The Biden administration has, for the past year, been in the process of extending contracts for private sector immigration jails across the US and exploring options for expanding detention capacity, a Guardian investigation has found.
This is despite both the US president’s previous statements opposing such private jails and the fact that many facilities have a reputation for inhumane conditions.
For this story, the Guardian reviewed hundreds of pages of contracting documents, government statements, inspection reports and private prison contractor calls with investors.
The investigation reveals that during this final year of Biden’s presidency, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) federal agency has been working on extending at least 14 contracts with private prison companies to run a number of immigration detention centers across the country, against significant opposition from Democrats and advocates.
“The Biden administration has increased the number of people in detention, doubled down on anti-immigrant, Trump-era deterrence policies, and expanded detention capacity in direct conflict with its own promises to end for-profit incarceration and bring fairness to the immigration system,” said Silky Shah, executive director of Detention Watch Network, a national advocacy working with detained immigrants.
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