NPG Unveils Startling Findings in New Forum Paper on the Costs of Cheap Immigration Detention

• NPG
• March 28, 2024
• Press Releases
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Exploring the Economic Dynamics of Private Immigration Detention Centers

Alexandria, VA, (March 28, 2024): Negative Population Growth, Inc. (NPG), a non-profit organization dedicated to addressing the challenges of population growth, has released a new Forum paper, The High Cost of Cheap Immigration Detention, authored by Edwin S. Rubenstein. The publication is the first in a series of three (to be released consecutively) investigative works examining industries that have historically benefited from illegal immigration in the United States.

The paper puts a spotlight on the private prison industry, noting its origins in the 1980s when government-run prisons were at capacity. The private sector’s role in perpetuating reliance on for-profit incarceration is detailed, revealing insights into the financial motives that underpin the system.

Rubenstein’s research paints a stark picture of a sector too embedded in the U.S. criminal justice fabric to fade without a fight, leveraging its position for continued profitability. “The Regan era was the Golden Age of privatization,” the paper highlights, signaling the marked shift toward private solutions for communal problems, with imprisonment taking center stage.

Currently, the Department of Homeland Security outsources over three-quarters of immigrant detainee housing to private entities, signaling a profitable nexus between private prison profits and high illegal immigration rates. The industry’s revenue streams are furthered by contracts for prison utilities like food and health services, which, Rubenstein notes, often yield substandard conditions and lawsuits.

With private prisons ingratiating themselves through political contributions and an expanding footprint in detaining immigrants, Rubenstein suggests a formidable challenge in efforts to curb their influence. Under the Biden administration, there has been a noted shift. The number of ICE detainees has significantly been reduced, and alternative means of detention are increasingly favored.

NPG’s latest publication invites readers to examine an industry informed less by market dynamics and more by the ebb and flow of public policy—a stark revelation that underscores NPG’s ongoing work.

Craig Lewis, NPG’s Executive Director said, “It is essential for policymakers and the public to understand the deep-rooted consequences of the profitable alliance between private prisons and the dire issue of immigration. NPG’s report draws necessary attention to the complexities of this relationship and its impact on immigration policies and American lives.”

NPG encourages readers to reflect on the profound words presented in the conclusion of the Forum paper:

“Expand or die. This truism applies to any industry where many private firms compete for market share. The for-profit prison business is not any industry, however. Demand for its services is not driven by growth in personal income or market prices. Public policies are the major determinant of a private prison company’s revenues, profits, and employment.”

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