SoylentNews

upstart writes in with a submission, via IRC, for Runaway1956:

California law bans for-profit, private prisons, immigration detention centers

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Friday [October 11] that would eliminate private, for-profit prisons, including those used for immigration detention, by 2028.

Starting on Jan. 2020, the state's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation won't be able to enter into or renew a contract with a private, for-profit prison to incarcerate people.

Operating a private immigration detention facility and incarcerating people in for-profit prisons will be prohibited after Jan. 2028, according to the newly signed law.

[...] The Adelanto Detention Facility, which is one of the nation's biggest privately-run immigration detention centers, will be phased out under the new law.

This past summer, the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General released a report that found "egregious violations of detention standards" at the Adelanto Detention Facility, including "nooses in detainee cells, improper and overly restrictive segregation, and inadequate detainee medical care."

[...] GEO Group, a for-profit prison company with dozens of facilities in California including the Adelanto Facility, previously has stated that the bill "works against the state's Proposition 57 anti-recidivism goals approved by the voters," referring to a ballot proposition passed in 2016 to reduce the number of people who were re-incarcerated in the state.

The company reported revenues of $2.33 billion in 2018, up from $2.26 billion in 2017. The facilities have been criticized for employing immigrants for as little as $1 a day.

Original Submission