{"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":"<div id=\"attachment_594659\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 771px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-594659\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IMG_5334-1170x878-771x579.jpg\" alt=\"Cibola County Correctional Center\" width=\"771\" height=\"579\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IMG_5334-1170x878-771x579.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IMG_5334-1170x878-336x252.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IMG_5334-1170x878-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IMG_5334-1170x878.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/IMG_5334-1170x878-800x600.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Sarah Macaraeg<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">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<p>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<p>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<p>Across the country the two private prison operators have spent considerable money to influence government policy and have made\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.migrationpolicy.org\/article\/profiting-enforcement-role-private-prisons-us-immigration-detention\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sizable 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<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p>This article comes from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nmindepth.com\/2018\/06\/22\/as-immigration-debate-rages-private-prison-operators-spread-cash-to-nm-pols\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New Mexico In Depth<\/a>. Sign up for\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nmindepth.us6.list-manage.com\/subscribe?u=1d2ab093d81b992e50978b363&amp;id=9294743d38\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">their newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>In New Mexico, since late 2016 at least, Democratic elected officials have emerged as the big winners in the contest for private prison operator dollars, a review by NMID shows, receiving nearly \u00a0three-quarters \u2014 $24,100 \u2014 of the $32,950 given by the two companies. That includes this election cycle\u2019s single-largest contribution to a New Mexico elected official \u2013 $5,500, which went to state Attorney General Hector Balderas.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, who is running for governor this year and received $1,000 from CoreCivic, have combined received $8,850.<\/p>\n<p>Neither GEO nor CoreCivic appear to have given money\u00a0since late 2016\u00a0to U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Pearce\u2019s Democratic opponent in this year\u2019s gubernatorial race.<\/p>\n<p>However, they have given to her Democratic colleagues in Congress, records show.<\/p>\n<p>Democratic U.S. Senator\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/orgs\/recips.php?id=D000021940&amp;party=D&amp;chamber=S&amp;type=P&amp;cycle=2018\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Martin Heinrich<\/a>\u00a0and U.S. Rep.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/orgs\/recips.php?id=D000022003&amp;type=P&amp;state=&amp;sort=A&amp;cycle=2018\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n<\/a>\u00a0have received $5,000 total from GEO Group\u2019s and CoreCivic\u2019s political action committees and from people affiliated with the companies, according to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Center for Responsive Politics<\/a>\u00a0in Washington.<\/p>\n<p>New Mexico In Depth conducted its review of political contributions from the private prison operators going to New Mexico elected officials by searching the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/opennessproject.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Openness Project\u00a0<\/a>and a database maintained by the Center for Responsive Politics. The Openness Project tracks money going to candidates and incumbents in state elections back to 2010, while CRP tracks money going to candidates and incumbents in federal elections.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>GEO and CoreCivic have maintained a large footprint in New Mexico for decades, these days operating four of the state\u2019s five privately operated correctional facilities, according to the New Mexico Department of Corrections website. (The fifth private facility, in Otero County, is operated by Management &amp; Training Corp. NMID did not find political contributions from that company going to New Mexico officials.)<\/p>\n<p>In addition, CoreCivic has converted a former federal prison in Cibola County<a href=\"http:\/\/nmindepth.com\/2017\/10\/26\/inside-a-private-prisons-150m-deal-to-detain-immigrants-in-new-mexico\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00a0into an U.S.\u00a0Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Over the years, GEO and CoreCivic, which previously was the Corrections Corporation of America and, before that, Wackenhut, have given to New Mexico candidates and elected officials, sometimes lavishly. GEO gave\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.santafenewmexican.com\/news\/local_news\/prison-firms-donate-thousands-to-richardson\/article_9de12eca-82b3-5cb0-884a-37958323bc39.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tens of thousands of dollars<\/a>\u00a0to former Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson\u2019s re-election campaign in 2006.<\/p>\n<p>Since 2010, GEO has continued its spending, giving $187,000 to New Mexico candidates and incumbents, with a substantial portion \u2014 around $130,000 \u2014 going to Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and Advance New Mexico Now, a political action committee affiliated with her.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, CoreCivic\/Corrections Corporation of America has given around $35,000 to political candidates since 2010, NMID\u2019s review shows.<\/p>\n<p>Since late 2016, the companies have spread money around the state Legislature, giving to more than 30 state lawmakers, the largest contributions usually going to powerful legislators. Among those recipients were Democratic Speaker of the House Brian Egolf ($2,500); Patricia Lundstrom, chair of the House\u2019s powerful budget committee ($2,550); and Republican House Minority Leader Nate Gentry ($2,500).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":594659,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[140,705],"class_list":["post-594655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-border-and-immigration","tag-money-in-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=594655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/594659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=594655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=594655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=594655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}