{"id":594655,"date":"2018-06-24T08:00:32","date_gmt":"2018-06-24T14:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=594655"},"modified":"2018-06-22T19:37:06","modified_gmt":"2018-06-23T01:37:06","slug":"as-immigration-debate-rages-private-prison-operators-spread-cash-to-nm-politicians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2018\/06\/as-immigration-debate-rages-private-prison-operators-spread-cash-to-nm-politicians\/","title":{"rendered":"As immigration debate rages, private prison operators spread cash to NM politicians"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cibola

Sarah Macaraeg<\/p>

The for-profit Cibola County Correctional Center, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center owned and operated by private prison giant CoreCivic, in rural Milan, New Mexico.<\/p><\/div>\n

Two of the nation\u2019s largest private prison companies have given nearly $33,000 to New Mexico\u2019s congressional representatives and state lawmakers over the last year and a half, a review of campaign finance records by New Mexico In Depth shows.<\/p>\n

The two operators \u2014 the GEO Group, Inc., and CoreCivic, which have maintained a major presence in New Mexico for decades \u2014 have come in criticism over the years from immigration attorneys and advocates for warehousing immigrants under multiple presidential administrations. The focus has sharpened as the nation debates the Trump administration\u2019s stepped-up immigration enforcement policies at the border.<\/p>\n

Across the country the two private prison operators have spent considerable money to influence government policy and have made\u00a0sizable profits<\/a>\u00a0from detaining immigrants in their facilities, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The Institute is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank in Washington, D.C. dedicated to analysis of the movement of people worldwide.<\/p>\n