NPR investigation: Private prison industry helped drive Arizona to adopt controversial immigration law
Members of the billion-dollar Corrections Corporation of America — the largest private prison company in the country — were among the many insiders who attended a meeting in Washington D.C. where Arizona State Sen. Russell Pearce first proposed SB1070, the controversial immigration bill that requires police to lock up people they stop who cannot show proof they entered the country legally.
According to Corrections Corporation of America reports reviewed by NPR during a months-long investigation, executives believe immigrant detention is their next big market. Last year, they wrote that they expect to bring in “a significant portion of our revenues” from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that detains illegal immigrants.
