Trump’s Executive Order Rewards Private Prison Campaign Donors

The following article by Sharita Gruber was posted on the Center for American Progress website June 28, 2018:

The Adelanto Detention Facility in California houses an average of 1,100 immigrants in custody and is managed by the private GEO Group Inc., November 2013. Credit: John Moore, Getty

In April, the Trump administration launched a zero-tolerance immigration policy that subjects everyone who crosses the border without prior authorization to possible criminal prosecution. This policy applies even to people who have a legal right to enter in pursuit of asylum. So far, the policy has separated more than 2,500 children from their parents, who are either waiting for a criminal hearing or have already been deported. This punishment is a disproportionately cruel response to mostly misdemeanor charges and largely meted out to people exercising their legal right to seek asylum.

In response to public outrage over his policy, President Donald Trump issued an executive order on June 20 stating that it is the policy of this administration “to maintain family unity, including by detaining alien families together.” Imprisoning entire families is not an appropriate or a viable solution; it is inhumane, ineffective, and unnecessary. Yet the administration has proposed giving billions of federal taxpayer dollars to for-profit companies to implement this immoral policy. Continue reading “Trump’s Executive Order Rewards Private Prison Campaign Donors”