The AP sent around a news story yesterday about ICE
detention facilities. The takeaway
message included:
- Private companies are housing most of the illegal aliens awaiting trial/deportation
- This incarceration is expensive
- The government hasn’t really compared actual costs
- These private prison companies donate to politicians
Source link:
But the illegal alien incarceration problem is merely a
symptom of the bigger problem, one the AP failed to report on. At issue are the following politically-motivated
factors:
1)
Our government chose to use private prisons rather than build
or use government facilities. For
example, the Thomson Illinois prison has had capacity for years, yet it has
become a Senator Dick Durbin football.
Washington has chosen not to build new federal detention centers for
illegal aliens.
2)
Sharing the load is rented space from county jails around the
country, making them dependent on the federal gravy train.
3)
The immigration court system is a protracted mess, working harder
at granting amnesty than quickly deporting people who are unlawfully present. This all takes time and appeals...and bed space for long periods of time.
4)
Obama in particular has championed the cause of comfort for
these prisoners. Dance lessons, cooking
classes and family visits all add to the cost of incarceration. And they have free medical care. I don’t.
5)
Private industry has learned not to warehouse parts for the
factory. The Just-in-time concept of
managing the factory has become a necessary science. Somehow government just doesn’t get it.
In short, we need more beds, swifter deportation, a tougher
immigration court and stronger interior enforcement. Our current “strategies” will not solve the detention bed problem.
It is clear from this problem that government does not understand the concept of opportunity costs.
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