Prison Company Foresees ‘Unprecedented’ Revenue, Announces Massive Newark ICE Lock-Up
A Very Scary Time
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is set to reopen an immigrant detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, that will nearly double the agency’s capacity to detain people in the New York City region. The private prison contractor, The GEO Group, announced a 15-year contract worth $1.2 billion with ICE, making it the largest detention facility in the region.
The reopening of Delaney Hall, which previously detained a smaller number of immigrants between 2011 and 2017, has been in the pipeline for months, triggering alarm among local immigrant rights activists. They argue that the easier it is for ICE to detain immigrants, the more the agency moves to do so.
"It is a very scary time for New York City residents," said Karla Ostolaza, managing director of the immigration practice at Bronx Defenders. "It’s very concerning that there is going to be a much more direct pipeline from the city into detention centers that are across the river and what that will mean for New York City families."
Unprecedented Opportunity
George Zoley, executive chairman of The GEO Group, called the reopening of Delaney Hall an "unprecedented opportunity to help the federal government meet its expanded immigration enforcement priorities." He added that the company has expanded bed capacity since the facility was last used.
"Our company-owned Delaney Hall Facility will play an important role in providing needed detention bedspace and support services for ICE in the Northeast," he said. An analysis from Open Secrets found that people affiliated with GEO Group contributed $1 million last year to Make America Great Again Inc, a PAC that supported President Trump.
Massive Increase in ICE Detention Beds
In a quarterly earnings call on Thursday morning, Zoley told shareholders that the company anticipates that President Trump’s mass-deportation agenda will lead to a massive increase in ICE detention beds – to as many as 160,000 from the current 41,000 – along with a surge in deportation flights and electronic monitoring.
"We expect the upside potential from all these opportunities to represent as much as $800 million to $1 billion in incremental annual ICE revenues" as new contracts open up, Zoley said, on top of the $2.42 billion in revenues the companies had been projecting.
The Trump round-up would create "an unprecedented time in our company’s history," GEO Group CEO David Donahue said on the call. "We believe the scale of the opportunity before our company is unlike any we’ve previously experienced."
New Contract
The contract, dated Wednesday, is worth a total of $1.2 billion. The reopened Delaney Hall will be by far the largest detention facility in the region, with a capacity to detain 1,000 individuals.
Reactions and Concerns
U.S. Senator Cory Booker slammed GEO Group’s new contract, saying he had urged the Biden administration not to reopen Delaney Hall last year.
"GEO Group has a documented history of gross neglect, including malnourishment, inhumane living conditions, forced labor, and the physical and sexual abuse of people detained at its facilities. Yet this administration is cutting them a $1 billion check," he said. "Put plainly, the reopening of the Delaney Hall Facility is an insult to immigrant communities and advocates in New Jersey, New York, and around the country who have fought tirelessly to document the human rights abuses at private detention centers and repeatedly pushed administration after administration to ensure the humane treatment of detained people."
Conclusion
The reopening of Delaney Hall is a concerning development for immigrant rights activists, who fear that it will lead to a surge in ICE detentions and deportations. The private prison company, The GEO Group, stands to benefit significantly from the contract, which is worth $1.2 billion over 15 years.
FAQs
- What is the purpose of the Delaney Hall facility?
The facility is intended to detain immigrants and facilitate the processing of individuals in ICE custody. - How many people will the facility be able to detain?
The facility will be able to detain 1,000 individuals. - What is the duration of the contract between The GEO Group and ICE?
The contract is for 15 years, with a total value of $1.2 billion. - What is the potential impact of the reopening of Delaney Hall on immigrant communities?
The reopening of the facility is likely to lead to a surge in ICE detentions and deportations, which could have a significant impact on immigrant communities in the region.
