private prisons

September 2, 2016 - The same day a high-profile undocumented student who was recently released on bond from a private detention center in Georgia detailed his experience at a press conference, the Department of Homeland Security announced it would review whether to follow the lead of the Justice Department and cut ties with private prison contractors.

August 19, 2016 - The decision comes following a government report finding serious safety and security problems in private prisons. But it does not help those being held in privately-run immigrant detention centers under the aegis of the Department of Homeland Security.

November 10, 2015 - A North Carolina law that bans so-called "sanctuary city" ordinances uses language from a model bill crafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a corporate interest advocacy group whose members include private prison companies that stand to profit from immigrant detention.

May 22, 2015 - Immigrant and refugee rights advocates are making headway in their efforts to end the Obama administration's punitive family detention policy even as detention centers, like the privately-managed and largest center in Dilley, Texas, are set to expand.

May 18, 2015 - The Republicans running Mississippi have the prison system in shambles, workers' compensation gutted, education on a precipice — and journalist Joe Atkins looking back to populist Louisiana Gov. "Uncle" Earl Long for solace.

April 17, 2015 - Companies spent millions in lobbying on immigration issues that led to a spike in incarceration levels and, in turn, boosted corporate profits.

April 10, 2015 - Immigrant mothers held at a private family detention center in Karnes City, Texas went on five-day hunger strike last week to press for their and their children's release -- and they say they will renew the strike if their demands are not met soon.