Privatizing the undocumented

Could President Obama’s Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) lead to higher rates of detentions for undocumented immigrants? Progressive critics of CIR say the private prisons industry has pushed for tougher border security in order to profit from increased detentions, but industry representatives deny the allegations. What role do private detention centers play in immigration policy? What are the conditions in these centers? Join us at 7:30pmEST to discuss.

On this episode of The Stream, we speak to:

Marshall Fitz @marshallfitz
Director, Immigration Policy, Center for American Progress
americanprogress.org

Axel Caballero @axelwcaballero
Founder, Director of Cuentame
mycuentame.org/who_we_are

Lulu Martinez @theNIYA
Activist, Detained as part of the Dream 9
facebook.com/NationalImmigrantYouthAlliance

Ira Mehlman @imehlman
Media Director, Federation for American Immigration Reform
fairus.org  

What do you think? Record a video comment and leave your thoughts below. 

Nearly half of immigrant detainees are held by privately-run, for-profit prison companies. These companies have a complex relationship with US immigration policy, as their bottom lines depend on keeping beds filled. How has the industry grown, and what does that mean for immigrants?

An online documentary called Immigrants for Sale explains how companies make a profit off of immigrant detention: