Immigrant Detention
The For-Profit Prison System and Immigration
ICE, or Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, along with Customs and Border Patrol, are divisions of the Department of Homeland Security.
The management and operation of civil immigration detention centers have been delegated in recent decades by ICE to for-profit prison companies (e.g., GeoGroup, or CoreCivic).
There are over 200 immigration jails operating throughout the U.S. (see Detention by the Numbers).
Prisons for Profit. Most immigration processing and detention centers are managed by a few private prison corporations such as Core Civic or Geo Group.
Detained immigrants who aren’t citizens, lack documentation, or are seeking asylum are often imprisoned hundreds of miles away from legal assistance.
As seen in this Digital Humanities interactive map, the building and placement of a new detention center is often linked to the interests of a Congressional representative.
Nonprofit groups such as RAICES and American Gateways struggle to provide legal representation for detained asylum seekers, often relying on the help of volunteer lawyers and legal assistants.
Read about the experience of one of our board members.
In 2012 and 2014 Women on the Border and Austin Tan Cerca de la Frontera collaborated and produced The Journey of an Immigrant Delegation.
Read about the planning for and stories gathered from the Journey of an Immigrant Delegation either in 2012 (Port Isabel) or 2014 (Pearsall).
