Anti-immigration hysteria tied to the private prison industry
The now-infamous “show me your papers” law which requires Arizona law enforcement to check the legal status of anyone “reasonably suspected” of being undocumented has brought illegal immigration to the forefront of American politics.
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Why is it that as illegal immigration becomes less of a national security threat, anti-immigration sentiment has ratcheted up?It is because those who have politically profited off the issue of illegal immigration by stoking fear are the beneficiaries of more than just electoral capital.
Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed S.B. 1070 into law, and the legislation’s principal architect, Russell Pearce, both have extensive financial ties to the private prison industry powerhouse Corrections Corporation of America, a company which stands to profit in the sum of millions if Arizona’s “papers please” legislation is enacted.
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This article from seven weeks ago has much of the information heard this week on NPR regarding private prison corporations supporting anti-immigrant legislation. (NPR then took the story to coverage of the American Legislative Exchange Council, which does not appear here.) I’m going to have to check the Arizona Daily Wildcat more often.