The economy may still be stuck in the doldrums for most industries, but the largest private prison company is feeling good about where it stands and where it’s headed. The Corrections Corporation of America, the country’s dominant private imprisoning corporation, recently told investors that it is doing a lot of business with DHS and sees plenty of growth potential. CCA, Investor Presentation (March 2012). In a slideshow posted on its web site recently, CCA announced that it has a “$3 billion gross book value portfolio consist[ing] of 92,043 beds comprised of 47 owned facilities with 66,719 [...]
Report: $2 billion immigration imprisonment bill; 32,953 imprisoned per night; number of prisoners limited by number of beds
Congress appropriated $2.051 billion to DHS for custody operations in fiscal year 2012 to fund 34,000 immigration prison beds, a researcher at the Congressional Research Service reported recently. Alison Siskin, Immigration-Related Detention: Current Legislative Issues (Congressional Research Service Jan. 12, 2012). Despite the country’s economic problems, immigration imprisonment funding has increased steadily since FY 2008, the first year included in the CRS report. Siskin at 15. Between FY ’11 and FY ’12, for example, “Congress increased the number of beds by 600, and increased funding [...]
Report: crImmigration enforcement funding and prison rates rise
A report by the Congressional Research Service tells of increased funding for the federal government’s programs targeting immigrants convicted of crimes, including immigration-related crimes, and an accompanying increase in the number of immigrants arrested and imprisoned. Marc R. Rosenblum & William A. Kandel, Congressional Research Service, Interior Immigration Enforcement: Programs Targeting Criminal Aliens (Oct. 21, 2011). The CRS is a non-partisan unit of the Library of Congress. Between fiscal year 2004 and FY 2001, the report explained, funding for programs targeting so-called [...]
3 Cir: Limits § 236(c) mandatory detention to reasonable period
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that INA § 236(c) authorizes mandatory detention only for a reasonable period of time. Diop v. ICE, No. 10-1113, slip op. (3d Cir. Sept. 1, 2011) (Fuentes, Chagares, and Pollak, JJ.). Judge Fuentes wrote the panel’s decision. This case involved a petition for writ of habeas corpus brought by an individual who was convicted in 1995 of Pennsylvania possession of a controlled substance with the intent to manufacture or deliver it and in 2005 of reckless endangerment. Diop, No. 10-1113, slip op. at 4. After being placed in removal [...]
Op-ed: House bill would put many immigrants in prison unnecessarily
Note: I published this op-ed in the Columbus Dispatch on August 20, 2011. Government coffers are empty and crime rates are at their lowest in 40 years, yet Congress is considering a vast expansion of the nation’s prison system that is unnecessary, expensive and likely unconstitutional. A proposal by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, approved by the House Judiciary Committee and its two Ohio members, Reps. Steve Chabot, R-Cincinnati, and Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, would drastically expand the number of immigrants imprisoned pending a deportation decision or awaiting a deportation that may never occur [...]
US dist ct: Mandatory detention applies only if detained upon release from crim custody
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia recently kept up its practice of holding that the INA’s mandatory detention provision, INA § 236(c), applies only to individuals who ICE detains upon release from criminal custody. Hosh v. Lucero, No. 1:11-cv-464, 2011 WL 1871222 (E.D. Va. May 16, 2011) (Trenga, J.). The individual involved here, Hosh, is an LPR charged as removable for having been convicted of an aggravated felony and thus subject to mandatory detention pursuant to INA § 236(c)(1)(B). ICE did not arrest Hosh until sometime after he had successfully completed his [...]
9th Cir: Burden on govt to justify continued detention; must record bond hearing
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently held that the government has the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that continued detention pending removal is justified and that the immigration court must make a contemporaneous record of a bond hearing. Singh v. Holder, No. 10-15715, slip. op. (9th Cir. March 31, 2011) (Graber, Fisher, and Bybee, J.). Judge Fisher wrote the panel’s opinion. This case involved an LPR imprisoned by ICE since April 10, 2007. An IJ ordered him removed in September 2007, but his case has moved slowly through the appeals process, [...]
GAO: States pay most cost of imprisoning immigrants in state jails
The U.S. Government Accountability Office recently reported that most of the cost of imprisoning “criminal aliens” in state prisons systems was paid by state governments. GAO, Criminal Alien Statistics: Information on Incarcerations, Arrests, and Costs (March 2011 GAO-11-187). [A summary in html is also available.] States, cities, and counties are partially reimbursed for the costs of incarcerating noncitizens who meet specified criteria through the Justice Department’s State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP). Importantly, “SCAAP is not intended to reimburse state and local [...]