What data did you collect?
I have learned a great deal about the extensive lobbying that has occurred behind the public eye over the past decade. This lobbying is intended to safeguard the existence and success of for-profit prisons. Indeed, private prisons contributed a record-breaking $1.6 million to candidates and other political organizations in the 2016 election cycle alone (Swann 2017). Unsurprisingly, Republicans were the primary recipients of the 2016 private prison contributions. The GEO Group and CoreCivic (formerly known as the Corrections Corporation of America) dominate the for-profit prison industry, and these companies have spent nearly $25 million on lobbying endeavors since 1989 (Cohen 2015). The lobbying efforts from the GEO Group and CoreCivic have proved their effectiveness. For instance, the Obama administration approved a $1 billion deal with CoreCivic in 2014 to build a facility in Dilley, Texas that would detain child and female migrants seeking asylum (Mark 2016). CoreCivic and the GEO Group continue to funnel monetary contributions to political leaders who demonstrate the promise of maximizing the profits for these companies.
What is your initial impression of the data?
Although I was not surprised to learn about the fact that the GEO Group and CoreCivic engage in lobbying efforts, I was shocked when reviewing the specific monetary contributions (they were much larger than I had expected). I was surprised to learn that the Former Deputy Attorney General, Sally Q. Yates, attempted to reduce the use of the for-profit prisons that held federal inmates in 2016. Yates proclaimed the decision after the 2016 Department of Justice Report found that private prisons were more dangerous and offered less rehabilitative services than facilities controlled by the federal Bureau of Prisons. However, Attorney General Jeff Sessions expectedly overturned Yates’ efforts in 2017.
How have the data you have collected this week changed/progressed your thinking about your research project?
During my first week of research I could not find anything compelling regarding the politics of the privatization of prisons, and I was going to drop that portion of my project as a result. During the second week I found more information, but again, no information that I thought was particularly insightful. This week’s data has confirmed that I definitely want to incorporate the role of politics in expanding the presence of for-profit prisons in my project.
What challenges did you encounter while collecting the data?
I have never taken into consideration the intersection between the prosecutorial nature of immigration policies and the subsequent benefits corporations like GEO and CoreCivic experience. According to Cohen’s article, private prison companies control nine out of the ten largest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers. I am finding it difficult to find a seamless way to incorporate the role of immigration politics into my project.
What are your next steps?
I need to start synthesizing all of this information and begin connecting the data to sociological theories more concretely.
- 2-3 annotations.
Cohen, Michael. “How For-Profit Prisons Have Become the Biggest Lobby No One is Talking About.” The Washington Post, April 28, 2015. https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/04/28/how-for-profit-prisons-have-become-the-biggest-lobby-no-one-is-talking-about/?utm_term=.e352a1a75744.
Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Q. Yates. “Phasing Out Our Use of Private Prisons.” The United States Department of Justice Archives, August 18, 2016. https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/blog/phasing-out-our-use-private-prisons.
Mark, Michelle. “The Biggest Problem with Private Prisons Starts on Capitol Hill.” Business Insider, August 20, 2016. https://www.businessinsider.com/private-prisons-lobby-for-their-own-existence-2016-8.
Swann, Sara. “For-Profit Prisons: Background.” The Center for Responsive Politics. Last Updated May 2017. https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/background.php?cycle=2018&ind=G7000.
The Center for Responsive Politics. “For-Profit Prisons: Summary.” Accessed April 19, 2019. https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=G7000.
Zapotosky, Matt. “Justice Department will Again use Private Prisons.” The Washington Post, February 23, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/justice-department-will-again-use-private-prisons/2017/02/23/da395d02-fa0e-11e6-be05-1a3817ac21a5_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.b1a5b722d565.