President Donald Trump signed an executive order reversing former President Joe Biden’s ban on private prison contracts with the Justice Department.
Along with this, Trump also signed an executive order effectively enacting a mass deportation operation within the U.S.
While private immigration detention centers never stopped in the U.S. under this order, the number of private detainment centers in the U.S. is expected to grow.
Are there private prisons in the U.S.?
Biden’s executive order issued in Jan. 2021 directed the U.S. Department of Justice to phase-out its contracts with private prison companies, excluding ICE detention, says the American Civil Liberties Union.
Since 2021, and since Trump rescinded Biden’s executive order, revenues for private prison companies have increased.
Twenty-seven states, along with the federal government, have incarcerated 90,873 people in private, for-profit prisons in 2022, which represents approximately 8% of the total state and federal prison population, says the Sentencing Project.
In July of 2023, over 90% of approximately 30,000 people were held daily in ICE detention and were housed in private facilities, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
In relation to this, the private prison industry is benefiting from the Trump administration via policies that will expand detention and increase profits, according to American Progress.
Do these private prisons have anything to do with the mass deportations in the U.S.?
The two largest companies that manage detention centers and correctional facilities are highly likely to profit from aggressive immigration policies in the U.S.
The federal government’s immigration detention system relies on private prison corporations, such as GEO Group, CoreCivic, LaSalle Corrections and the Management Training Corporation, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Corporations like these have pocketed billions from ICE detention contracts in the past two decades.
Stock prices of the two largest publicly traded companies in the U.S. that own and manage prisons and immigrant detention centers soared following Trump’s election, says the Brennan Center.
Do private prisons utilize prison labor?
Prisons can force inmates to work for little or no wage under the 13th Amendment, and private prison corporations stand to profit from cheap prison labor, says The Democracy Labs.
There are over 870,000 inmates working full-time in U.S. prisons, and the median wage within state and federal prisons is around 20 to 31 cents an hour, according to The Democracy Labs. Additionally, in Texas, Georgia and Arkansas, prisoners are forced to work for free.
Given the number of incarcerated individuals in the U.S., the private prison industry is in an opportune position to make a profit from cheap prison labor, says the Princeton Legal Journal.
Presley Bo Tyler is a reporter for the Louisiana Deep South Connect Team for Gannett/USA Today. Find her on X @PresleyTyler02 and email at PTyler@Gannett.com
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