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Wednesday, February 16, 2011

CCA Prison Detainee Count Distorts MS Census

For anyone who might think that there are no connections between our open-border policy and refusal to deport criminal immigrants and corporate and legislative profit motives, examples like this one ought to help explain why our legislators continue this insane push to incarcerate vs. deport the criminals streaming across our borders.

It is no secret that CCA helps write immigration policy and anyone who thinks they don't force an agenda that is in the best interest of their stockholders rather than the best interest of American citizens and communities might want to spend some time doing a bit more research into who is behind the shaping of our national and state legislative actions and policy making.

Corporations like CCA are able to work with our lawmakers for a $50,000 fee paid to The American Legislative Exchange Council - is it any wonder they promote policy that will increase their profit margins and value on Wall Street?

So while they make a fortune, we the taxpayers get to foot the bill for facilities like the $128 million dollar Adams County Correctional Center. The census should reflect the true population, and not be distorted by counting the imported and illegal immigrant status criminals housed in the districts simply to boost corporate and dirty legislative profits.

Excerpts From Natchez Democrat, "Reality of Population Drop Worse" Posted by By Emily Lane

NATCHEZ — The 2010 U.S. Census included a sizable chunk of people as Adams County residents who do not live in these parts by choice.

Approximately 2,000 inmates at the Corrections Corporation of America prison were counted as Adams County residents in the recent census, Adams County Correctional Center Warden Vance Laughlin confirmed.

That means that the county lost approximately 4,000 — approximately 13 percent — of its population in the last decade when excluding prison inmates at the Adams County Correctional Facility from the equation. Adams County’s population decreased to 32,297 in 2010 from 34,340 in 2000, counting the inmates.

The extra boost in census population explains the growth reported in District 5.
Inmates included, District 5 has 23-percent more residents than the average of all of the districts’ populations.

The census also counted 1,878 Hispanics in District 5, compared to an average of 68 Hispanics in Districts 1-4.
Most of the 2,567 beds at CCA are filled with inmates from Central and South America. An exact breakdown of the prison’s census count was not available by press time.
CCA has a contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons to house 2,567 criminal alien offenders in Adams County Correctional Center. 

The offenders are low-security illegal immigrants who committed offenses in the United States and will be returned to their country of origin after completing their sentences.

Stacy Vidal, a public information officer for the U.S. Census Bureau, said each state is responsible for its own rules and processes for how they use census data to draw district lines.

Read The Full Story on The Natchez Democrat

Monday, February 7, 2011

Milo, Maine Falls Prey To CCA Private Prison Industry

How sad to see another town falling to the sales-pitch of corporate prison piggies. 100 good paying jobs? Yeah, why not investigate some other towns who believed the same thing. New industry! More schools! More revenue! Because business just flock to build near prisons, dontcha know?

And I bet with just a few minutes of digging people would discover that CCA was a major contributor to Senator Thomas' campaign. That is standard operating procedure of Corrections Corporation of America and their ilk; buy out lawmakers first, then push for more privatization contracts. Disgusting.

From CorrectionsOne AUGUSTA, Maine—Prospects of building a privately run prison in the economically depressed town of Milo appear to be gaining momentum with a new administration in the State House and legislation being prepared to pave the way for such a project.

Republican Sen. Douglas Thomas' bill has yet to be fleshed out, but it's clearly aimed at authorizing a prison in the Piscataquis County town of about 2,400, which has a double-digit unemployment rate and has been buffeted by a loss of businesses not to mention devastating fire in 2008 that wiped out a third of its downtown.

"If there's a chance of getting 100 good-paying jobs, I'm interested," said Thomas, of Ripley.
Read more at Boston.com.