Report: The Expansion and Failed Reform of Immigration Detention in New Jersey
New Jersey Advocates Release Report Denouncing Conditions in
Essex County Immigration Detention Facilities
Newark, NJ – New Jersey Advocates for Immigrant Detainees* and the NYU School of Law Immigrant Rights Clinic will release a comprehensive report on immigration detention in Essex County. The report, “Immigration Incarceration: The Expansion and Failed Reform of Immigration Detention in Essex County, NJ,” takes a hard look at the results of the expansion of immigration detention in Essex County and will be released on March 23, 2012 at a conference on immigration detention issues at Rutgers—Newark Center for Law & Justice.** A full copy of the report is available online at http://www.afsc.org/document/immigration-incarceration-expansion-and-failed-reform-immigration-detention-essex-county-nj Read more 
Report- Privatization limits access to public information
March 14, 2012 In The Public Interest releases a groundbreaking report exposing the ways in which government contracting and privatization limit our access to public information. Part of a larger national initiative dedicated to promoting the importance of open government and the freedom of information, the report looks at how current open records laws fail to address and govern private contractors, outlining the information that is lost or hidden from public scrutiny. Weak open record laws prevent the public, journalists, advocates, and lawmakers from providing effective oversight and accountability of public resources and services. To address this, Floodlights Instead of Flashlights includes an explicit set of recommendations for lawmakers, media and advocates.
For a copy of the full report, click here.
Report Reveals Widespread Problems in Arizona’s Private Prisons: Cites Safety Issues, Lack of Accountability, and Cost
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 16, 2012
Contact: Caroline Isaacs, (520) 256-4146 (cell), cisaacs@afsc.org
Report Reveals Widespread Problems in Arizona’s Private Prisons:
Cites Safety Issues, Lack of Accountability, and Cost
Phoenix: Yesterday, a Quaker group that has been advocating against prison privatization in Arizona released an extensive report reviewing the safety, quality, and cost of private prisons in Arizona—including 6 prisons operated by Corrections Corporation of America that do not contract with the state. The report is the first of its kind to be completed in Arizona, and reveals widespread and persistent problems in private facilities.
The report cites data showing that the private prisons under contract with the state cost more than equivalent units operated by the Department of Corrections. The group estimates that in 2009 and 2010, Arizona overpaid for these units by as much as $7 million. If the state adds 2,000 medium-security private beds, Arizonans could be losing over $10 million every year on private prisons. Read more
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The Real Risks to Residents and Taxpayers of Privatizing Prisons and Prison Services in Michigan
Prison Privatization Report Reveals Risks to Residents and Taxpayers
Legislators’ Rush to Privatize Prisons Will Benefit Corporation, Not Michigan Taxpayers
New Report recommends caution due to lack of cost savings, contractor’s troubled record
LANSING – Legislators should investigate the failed promises of prison privatization in Michigan and other states before rushing to pass proposals under consideration, state corrections officers familiar with the issues said today in releasing comprehensive research about risks to taxpayers and dangers to residents.
“The reality of privatization is that it ends up costing taxpayers more, not less – and we’ve seen that in Michigan,” said Michigan Corrections Organization Executive Director Mel Grieshaber. “Privatization is tempting because corporations make all kinds of promises, but they don’t deliver on the cost savings and they don’t run their facilities safely. Michigan doesn’t need more prison space. Taxpayers should question why the Legislature is rushing to approve a plan that will give more profits to a corporation that already failed here.” Read more
The Wrong Approach: State Anti-Immigration Legislation in 2011
The Wrong Approach: State Anti-Immigration Legislation in 2011 | By A. Elena Lacayo | National Council of La Raza
On April 23, 2010, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law SB 1070, the nation’s most punitive immigration legislation, placing anti-immigrant initiatives into the national spotlight alongside herself and the bill’s sponsor, Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce. The legislation was widely condemned by the country’s leading civil rights organizations for essentially codifying and legitimizing racial profiling. However, in spite of the damage that Arizona has suffered in terms of its weakened national image, lost business and tourism revenue, and legal fees related to SB 1070, the legislators and private interest groups that helped pass this law announced their intent to pass similar laws in other states.
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HOW CCA ABUSES PRISONERS, MANIPULATES THE PUBLIC AND DESTROYS COMMUNITIES
HOW CCA ABUSES PRISONERS, MANIPULATES THE PUBLIC AND DESTROYS COMMUNITIES
The United States maintains the largest prison system in the world, far outpacing its closest international competitors in both prison population and incarceration rates.1 For the first time in 2008, more than 1 in 100 adults in the U.S. were incarcerated in county, state or federal correctional facilities.2 When probation and parole are included in the equation, approximately 7.2 million people were under some form of correctional supervision by 2009.3 This represents 1 in 31 adults in the U.S., including 1 in 18 men, 1 in 27 Latinos/as and 1 in 11 African Americans.4 As a result of the unprecedented scope of the prison system, federal and state corrections combined now cost taxpayers approximately $68 billion per year.5
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No Conviction, No Freedom: Immigration Authorities Locked 13,000 In Limbo
By Elise Foley | Huffington Post | January 27,2012
WASHINGTON — On a single day this past fall, the United States government held 13,185 people in immigration detention who had not been convicted of a crime, some of whom will not be charged with one, according to information The Huffington Post obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. Instead, at a cost of roughly 2 million taxpayer dollars per day, the men and women were detained while immigration authorities sorted out their fates.
This case stands in stark contrast to the stated goal of immigration policy under the administration of President Barack Obama: to detain and deport unauthorized immigrants who’ve been convicted of crimes. Read more
DO PRIVATE PRISONS SAVE MONEY?
Private Corrections Institute Policy Brief: DO PRIVATE PRISONS SAVE MONEY?
Summary: The research on cost savings through prison privatization, dating back to a 1996 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, is equivocal. Some studies have shown savings while others indicate that private prisons are actually more expensive when all relevant cost factors are considered. Many of the studies that have found savings through privatization were funded by the private prison industry or organizations that receive funding from private prison companies. Most independent studies have determined that cost savings are inconclusive at best and illusory at worst. Even assuming that private prisons save money for taxpayers (e.g., that such savings do not go toward corporate profits), we get what we pay. Do we really want to be outsourcing the incarceration and supervision of dangerous prisoners to the lowest bidder?
Too Good to be True: Private Prisons in America
January 13, 2012 | The Sentencing Project
NEW REPORT EXAMINES PRIVATE PRISONS IN AMERICA
Private prisons held over 128,000 prisoners in 2010, representing an 80 percent increase since 1999. This growth has been built on the claim that private prisons can operate at a lower cost than publicly operated facilities, while still providing the same levels of service. Private prison companies have failed to fulfill this promise, according to the new report, Too Good to be True: Private Prisons in America.
Too Good to be True: Private Prisons in America can be viewed here.
Dispatch From Detention: A Rare Look Inside Our ‘Humane’ Immigration Jails
Dispatch From Detention: A Rare Look Inside Our ‘Humane’ Immigration Jails
Photo: Paul J. Richards/Getty Images
by Seth Freed Wessler | January 4 2012 | Colorlines
Sam Kitching, a soft-spoken, round old man dressed in civilian clothes who works for the Sheriff’s department at the Baker County Jail put his hand on my shoulder and, addressing me as “young man,” said, “It’s very important that you be careful in there. They might have AIDS and might try to grab your hand and push something into it.” Read more
Getting Prison Numbers Down—For Good
Getting Prison Numbers Down—For Good
By Malcolm C. Young | January 01, 2012 | The Crime Report
Some commentators are celebrating the decrease in prison population numbers reported for 2010 by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)—and they should.
Any attention to mass incarceration is welcome in a nation where prison reformers, community groups, advocates from across the political spectrum, major foundations, and many policymakers favor reducing prison incarceration—currently at levels that have no peacetime historical or international precedent.
Yet despite evidence that the U.S. as a whole may at last have turned away from the annual increases in state prison incarceration that began in the early 1970s, it remains to be seen whether progress toward meaningful reductions will proceed at a pace necessary to have a significant impact on the phenomenon.
The basis for broad-based and deep change in sentencing and corrections practices has not yet emerged. Read more
A Culture of Cruelty: Abuse and Impunity in short-term U.S. Border Patrol Custody
A Culture of Cruelty: Abuse and Impunity in short-term U.S. Border Patrol Custody
Introduction
In 2006, in the midst of humanitarian work with people recently deported from the United States to Nogales, Sonora, No More Deaths began to document abuses endured by individuals in the custody of U.S. immigration authorities, and in particular the U.S. Border Patrol. In September 2008 No More Deaths published Crossing the Line in collaboration with partners in Naco and Agua Prieta, Sonora. The report included hundreds of individual accounts of Border Patrol abuse, as well as recommendations for clear, enforceable custody standards with community oversight to ensure compliance. Almost three years later, A Culture of Cruelty is a follow-up to that report—now with 12 times as many interviews detailing more than 30,000 incidents of abuse and mistreatment, newly obtained information on the Border Patrol’s existing custody standards, and more specific recommendations to stop the abuse of individuals in Border Patrol custody.
Essex County Immigration Detention Expansion, an Invitation for Abuse
Essex County Immigration Detention Expansion, an Invitation for Abuse
Background: In early August, Essex County Executive, Joe DiVincenzo, entered into a new Inter-Governmental Services Agreement (IGSA) with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to increase the number of ICE detainees held in Essex County from 500 to 1,250. Until the new agreement, New Jersey had experienced a continued increase in the number of immigration detention having reached the previous all time high of approximately 1,600 beds in February, 2010. The Essex County Correctional Facility immediately added 300 additional beds, and the privately-run Delaney Hall opened to 68 women and 382 men opened in October. The total number of detention beds in New Jersey is now around 2,350.
Private Prisons: The Public’s Problem #AFSC
Private Prisons: The Public’s Problem
An Investigation into the Performance of Arizona’s Private, For-Profit Prisons
These are the preliminary findings of a report that, when released, will be the first of its kind in Arizona. To date there has been no government or independent analysis of the performance and quality of all prisons in the state. Given that private for-profit prisons have operated in Arizona for decades, this fact in itself is shocking. Arizona has invested millions of taxpayer dollars in for-profit prisons but has provided no evidence that these prisons are safe, cost effective, or competent at fulfilling the job taxpayers pay them to do.
When AFSC learned that the state had not properly monitored and reported on for-profit prison operations, as mandated by law, AFSC undertook its own investigation into the prison industry in Arizona.
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ALEC Exposed!
Earlier in the year the Center for Media and Democracy unveiled this trove of over 800 “model” bills and resolutions secretly voted on by corporations and politicians through the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). These bills reveal the corporate collaboration reshaping our democracy, state by state.
ALEC bills, which largely benefit the organization’s corporate members, have been introduced in legislatures in every state—but without disclosing to the public that corporations previously drafted or voted on them through ALEC. Check out ALEC EXPOSED website Read more
