Homeland Security to Review Use of Private Prisons Companies

The Justice Department’s actions will only impact federal detainees, who account for approximately 12 percent of the private prison population.

“I have asked that Judge [William] Webster establish a Subcommittee of the Council to review our current policy and practices concerning the use of private immigration detention and evaluate whether this practice should be eliminated”, Johnson stated. Advocates for immigrants have accused the companies of withholding proper mental health and medical care from detainees to boost profits.

Shares of private prison operators Corrections Corp. of America (CXW) and GEO Group (GEO) continued to crumble on Monday after the Department of Homeland Security said it would consider whether to phase out privately run immigration detention operations.

Corrections Corporation of America’s stock slid 9.4 percent and The GEO Group’s stock fell 6 percent immediately after news of the review broke. Both stocks were rebounding later in the afternoon.

Corrections Corp of America gained $689 million from ICE contracts since, 23 percent of its total revenue from federal contracts, according to the website SmartProcure that tracks government contracts.

Calling on DHS to follow in the steps of the DOJ, the Center for Constitutional Rights previously said: “Locking up immigrants, including families and children fleeing extreme violence in Central America, should not be a source of profit for huge corporations, particularly given private contractors’ awful record providing inadequate medical and mental health care to dying immigrants”.

Private prison contractors may lose the ability to run immigrant detention centers as for-profit businesses.

Corrections Corp of America spokesman Steve Owen said, “We’re proud of the quality and value of the services we provide and look forward to sharing that information”.

Announced Aug. 18, the DOJ’s decision to shutter its private prisons was largely based on a review by the agency’s inspector general, which found that “in a majority of the categories we examined, contract prisons incurred more safety and security incidents per capita than comparable [Bureau of Prisons] institutions”.

Senator Bernie Sanders, former Democratic presidential candidate, and Democratic Representative Raul Grijalva asked DHS in a letter last week to end the practice. “These private prisons cost more and are less humane”.

“I am cautiously optimistic because I think there is plenty of evidence as to why DHS should end its contracts with private prisons”, he told the Tribune on Monday.

Despite the bad reaction on the markets, the company said in a statement that it welcomed the DHS review.