Labor & Economy
The Economics of Detention

The U.S. prison population has grown more than 700 percent between 1970 and 2009. We’re locking people up left and right, including thousands of non-violent immigrants whose only crime is crossing the border without documentation. They are now trapped in private prisons with no voice.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has just released the jaw-dropping findings of its investigation into the shadowy system of privately run Criminal Alien Requirement (CAR) prisons used to hold immigrants. Here, thousands of immigrants serve lengthy prison sentences where they are exposed to abysmal conditions.
Private prisons have a lot to gain from the incarceration of immigrants. Their business model revolves around imprisoning people for profits, siphoning tax dollars away from public goods and into shareholders’ pockets. For locked-up immigrants, however, it means being isolated from family and the outside world.
Until ACLU’s blockbuster investigation, CAR facilities have operated in the shadows, effectively free from public scrutiny. See the report and other materials summarizing ACLU’s findings online at: www.aclu.org/CARabuse

-
Latest NewsJuly 11, 2025
Tortured by the Taliban, Locked Up in the U.S.
-
Striking BackJuly 30, 2025
Private Equity in Hospice Care Spurs Workers to Strike
-
Column - State of InequalityJuly 24, 2025
Reform Refill: Has Scott Wiener Convinced Gov. Newsom to Rein in Prescription Middlemen?
-
Striking BackJuly 18, 2025
Ford-Owned Battery Plant Drags Heels on Union Vote
-
The SlickJuly 21, 2025
On the Navajo Nation, the List of Mystery Wells Continues to Grow
-
Featured VideoJuly 18, 2025
Skater Kid: Behind the Viral Video and Continued Fight for Justice
-
Latest NewsJuly 14, 2025
Student Debt Collections Resume, Targeting Borrowers Least Able to Pay
-
Column - State of InequalityJuly 17, 2025
Trump and Kennedy Throw Head Start Into Reverse