Week 7 - Miguel Flores A02

Ackerman and Furman outlined a switch in corporatization and privatization of state prisons to privatizing immigrant detention centers. Cramped cells surmise the current conditions of detention centers. It is fitting to talk about the issue of immigration detention centers and how it is sparking controversy among advocates, media, and Senate leaders. I am an immigrant myself, and I had several of my family members detained because they did not have the proper documents, but their stay here in America was a life full of hopes and dreams. They just wanted to provide for their family in the best possible way. Some may argue; “If they wanted to work, why not file for proper work visas?” You have a point, but have you been to the Philippines? An impoverished country that thrives on people scamming and trafficking people in the United States. Unbeknownst to people seeking work overseas, they are being scammed and their work visas are being shorthanded by agents in order for them to work in the United States. Anyway, there are many contexts to immigration nowadays, and people who illegally settle here often work twice as much than the average American.  I think Ackerman and Furman are trying to convey that people are criminalizing immigration for various serious, whether they are here legally or illegally, corporates will find a way to criminalize immigrants for the sake of their for-profit means. The decline in the state prison population is being turned over to immigrant detention centers since immigration is currently on the rise in the United States.

A decline in the population of state prisons enabled corporations to think of other ways to generate profit and get contract deals from the government. They've converted prisons into detention centers for immigrants that are here illegally.

The aggressive current political climate ridicules the presence of immigrants in the United States, calling a national emergency just to build a f******g a wall is the focus of the current administration. Militarizing border security and increasing their tactics are in some way headed by corporations that gains profits in militarizing border security. A group of refugees that was reported recently got tear gassed the hell out of them. Neglect on behalf of immigrant detention officers that resulted in the death of a little boy and girl sparked a serious movement in reevaluating detention centers in the United States. Malnourished detainees, lack of beds, and clothing were issues that were brought up when the media uncovered the troubling conditions of detention centers. The added negative narrative on immigrants and the stance of the administration on immigrants does make me wonder if America is still the land of the free?

References:

Ackerman, A. R. and Furman, R. (2013). The Criminalization of Immigration and the Privatization of the Immigration Detention: Implications for Justice.

Brown, H. (2011). Refugees, Rights, and Race.

Corpwatch. (2007). This Alien Life: Privatized Prisons for Immigrants. Retrieved 17. February 2019