- Privatization introduces a corporate veil that blurs both public oversight and legal accountability…and distorts lines of legal responsibility. - The private nature of these companies breaks ordinary administrative chain of command, placing both governments and the public at a disadvantage in terms of ensuring transparency. - Private companies seldom have an interest in securing public oversight, as any criticism may entail negative economic consequences. - Numerous reports have been filed about misconduct, violence, and abuse perpetrated by contractors carrying out migration functions. - Deportation, detention, and border control have become big business. Boeing’s current contract to set up and operate a high-tech border surveillance system along the United States-Mexico border is worth $1.3 billion and involved nearly 100 subcontractors…and the Geo Group manages 7,000 detention beds in the United States. - Privatization, once pursued, is difficult to reverse.We have seen all of this before. In fact, we recently wrote about the sexual abuse scandal at the Don T. Hutto Detention Center in Taylor Texas, CCA’s letter to all state governors offering to purchase state prisons and jails, CEC’s (a for-profit prison company) notification to Liberty County that they will raise prices per prisoner if the county is successful in lowering the incarceration rate, and the new Karnes Immigrant Detention Facility in Texas. All these situations point to various reasons why privatization is the wrong solution. Privatization chips away at government accountability, and is riddled with problems from abuse to cutting corners. We must take a stand and stop it! Join our Community Action Network to get more involved.
