Publicly traded companies on the New York Stock Exchange and the S&P 600 own and operate for-profit prisons and immigration detention centers in the U.S. The two largest examples are GeoGroup (NYSE-GEO, est. 1984) and CoreCivic (NYSE-CXW, est. 1983). Their company website homepages feature lovely propaganda about all the civic good they do. The reality is much different.
They have very lucrative contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which operates under the Department of Homeland Security. Most retirement portfolio mutual funds and PERA programs are invested in these companies. Think about that.
If you want to learn more about the for-profit prison system in the U.S., check out your local libraries and independent booksellers. There are decades of factually documented books and articles written about this subject and its impacts on our society, both past and present.
Lorraine Thrasher
Bayfield
