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Private prison companies have spent millions to turn our criminal and immigration policies into ones that prioritize making them rich instead of keeping us safe—with terrible consequences. Today I’m announcing my plan to end this private profiteering off of cruelty.
The private prison population has grown rapidly since 2000. And with Donald Trump in the White House, private prison companies saw an opportunity to make millions off of his cruel immigration policies. Today, 73% of detained immigrants are held in private detention facilities.
The companies running prisons and detention centers regularly sacrifice safety to boost their bottom line. Private contractors in both public and private centers regularly cut corners to maximize margins and come up with schemes to make millions off of incarcerated people.
And the exploitation doesn’t end when people leave these facilities. For-profit supervision companies (which are often run by the same private prison corporations) get rich by charging outrageous fees for monitoring and supervision services like ankle monitors.
Our criminal and immigration systems are tearing apart communities of color and devastating the poor, including children. Women—especially women of color—are particularly saddled with the financial burden.
The government has a basic responsibility to keep the people in its care safe—not to use their punishment and detention as an opportunity for profit. As president, I'll ban all private prisons and detention facilities: medium.com/@teamwarren/en…
First, I'll end all contracts between the Bureau of Prisons, ICE, and the U.S. Marshals Service and private detention providers. There should be no place in America for profiting off of putting more people behind bars or in detention.
Next, I'll prohibit contractors from charging service fees for essential services, like phone calls, bank transfers, and health care. Companies shouldn’t be able to treat incarcerated individuals as captive profit centers.
Finally, I'll hold contractors accountable by expanding oversight, transparency and enforcement. It’s time to shine sunlight on the black box of private services that receive taxpayer dollars.
Washington hands billions to corporations profiting off of inhumane detention and incarceration policies while ignoring the families that are destroyed. It's corruption, plain and simple. Incarcerating and detaining millions for profit doesn’t keep us safe. We must do better.
