The Next Wave of Criminal "Clients" for Private Prison Profit

Just as Eric Holder seems to be signaling an end to the chaos and unsustainable economics of the War on Drugs, it appears that the talons of the private prison industry have already sunk deeply into its next prey/victim of choice.  As has been signaled for some time now on the CrImmigration blog and other outlets, criminal prosecution of undocumented immigrants has become the "new wave of non-violent" prisoners that are "flooding" into prisons in the United States.

This nation seems intent on locking up as many non-violent human beings as it possibly can, so long as the prisoners are persons of color, and this hysteria is driven furiously by private prison corporate influence, as the private prison regime seeks revenue and profit at every turn.

From Chris Kirkham:  "Now, just as the federal government has pulled back the throttle on the drug war, it is embarking on an unprecedented campaign to criminally prosecute undocumented immigrants crossing the border. The result: A new wave of non-violent offenders are flooding the nation's prisons.

'This is the crime du jour,' said Judith Greene, director of the nonprofit Justice Strategies, which has focused on the private prison industry's growing reliance on incarcerating undocumented immigrants. 'It's the drug war all over again. It's what's driving the market in federal prisons.'  Immigration offenders represent one of the fastest-growing segments of the federal prison population, providing a lucrative market for private prison corporations that largely control these inmates in the system. Over the last decade, revenue from the federal prison system has more than tripled for the GEO Group and nearly doubled for Corrections Corp. of America - the two companies that dominate the private prison industry."