Shani Henderson Week 7 Blog Post A02

Shani Henderson
ASA A02
Week 7

In this week's readings, specifically "The Criminalization of Immigration and the Privatization of the Immigration Detention: Implications for Justice" the author speaks about a topic that I knew nothing about. Ackerman and Furman speak about the up rise or increase in the criminalization of immigrants and increase in private prisons. Although this trend took off after the tragic terrorist attack on 9/11 and security got stricter for the safety of the citizens of the United States, a lot of the people who are considered "illegal" endured the back fire. The U.S. made and still makes it tough for immigrants to do everyday things in the country. The government did this by making new laws that make nearly everything immigrants do illegal in the country. Another important topic is that of the private prisons. Here there is a reinforcement especially in immigrant detainment. With the fact that there is an increase in these private prisons, the ultimate reason is the profit that large corporations gain. It's almost like the immigrants are just being thrown in detainment in these private prisons all so that money can be made. The idea that this has become some sort of market is a bit absurd. It's dehumanizing in a way and that is why I felt some type of way that linked me to this article. Im not necessarily an immigrant but i have people who are dearly close to me who are. And if those people are at risk or were at risk for being put into a private prison or living a life where everything they do in the country is illegal, that would not be okay with me. This article was eye opening and really interesting because i learned something new and it impacted me in a way that i did not thing it would.


Question:
Is there a still, to this day, a demand for private prisons in relations to immigrants and profits for large corporations?

References:
Ackerman, A. R. & Furman, R. (2013). The criminalization of immigration and the privatization of the immigration detention: Implications for justice. London: Taylor & Francis.

Picture derived from: https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/fix-96-end-mass-criminalization-immigrants/