ICE Is Trying to Avoid Oversight by Buying Private Prisons
The Trump administration is considering purchasing a number of private immigrant detention centers across the US. Doing so may allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement to bypass state laws geared at curbing abuses in the facilities.
By buying facilities currently owned by private prison companies, ICE could help shield those detention centers from state oversight and some lawsuits tied to alleged abuse, including labor violations. (David McNew / Getty Images)
A White House plan to buy up private immigrant detention centers nationwide could be used to bypass state laws geared at curbing abuses amid President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, insiders and experts tell the Lever.
Several of the detention centers reportedly short-listed for government takeover are located in the states that have been the most aggressive in their attempts to monitor and regulate private Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities.
In February, internal documents first made public by New Hampshire state officials laid out in detail the Trump administration’s ambitious plans for ICE’s “new detention model,” amid the agency’s ongoing immigration crackdown. The documents proposed purchasing vacant industrial warehouses and transforming them into “mega” detention centers, an effort that has sparked significant public backlash.
Sorry, but this article is available to active subscribers only. Please log in or become a subscriber.