Arizona: The Cost of Immigrant Detention

How do profits shape punishment?

Arizona State University

Arizona’s Eloy Detention Center is the third largest immigrant detention facility in the nation. It is also one of the most notorious. Among the 32 deaths of detainees in the United States from 2003-2015, 14 perished while incarcerated at Eloy—with five of these deaths attributed to either suicide or asphyxiation. The facility offers a prime case example for understanding the human costs of the for-profit corrections industry upon immigrants, their families, and those who work within detention facility walls. Operated by the private company Corrections Corporation of America, Eloy received $64.47 per day from the federal government for each person detained in 2015. As Corrections Corporation of America strives to provide “quality corrections services, offer a compelling value, and increase occupancy and revenue,” incentives to extend sentences while reducing spending on food, staffing, and medical care contribute to the realities facing detainees each day.

Our Point of View

As graduate students in Arizona, the site of controversial immigration legislation and home to 8% of all immigrant detention beds in the United States, we drew upon our diverse academic and personal connections to incarceration and immigration to engage perspectives of detainees and those who detain, the public sector and the private, and other community stakeholders. We drew from art, photographs, oral histories, government and financial reports, court cases, news outlets, and personal experiences.

Details of private prisons are, like the prisoners themselves, locked to the outside world.

— Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Report, "Private Prisons: A Bastion of Secrecy," 2014

Arizona: The Cost of Immigrant Detention Arizona State University

How do profits shape punishment?

Arizona: The Cost of Immigrant Detention

How do profits shape punishment?

Arizona State University

Eloy Detention Center, a medium security immigrant detention facility, has been operated by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) since 1994. It has 1,596 beds, including 100 spaces for women. Courtesy of: Jacquelyn George

In July of 2013, family members and activists gathered in a vigil outside Eloy to show solidarity for detainees conducting a hunger strike over the conditions they face inside. Courtesy of: Robert Haasch

Credit: Layal Rabat

CCA is a for profit company that controls 45% of private immigrant detention beds nationwide, contracting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain individuals across the United States. Courtesy of: Jacquelyn George

“If you do not die here from sadness from being imprisoned," wrote one detainee from Eloy in 2009, "you’ll die from lack of medical attention." Courtesy of: John Moore / Getty

In addition to the immigrant detention center, the town of Eloy is home to three prisons, all operated by Corrections Corporation of America. Courtesy of: Google Maps

Contribute a Story

The Changing Face of Undocumented Immigrants in Arizona

Death in Custody

Responses to Detention: Artists, Activists, and the Immigrant Community

The Economics of Immigrant Detention

Profiting from Detention

Eloy and the Dream 9

Private Corrections Officers - Why is Turnover so High

Opinion Poll: Vote Now!

Should your university or company have the right to ask about someone's prior convictions in their admission or job application?

Shape the debate

Painting the Faces of Detention

The Human Cost of Immigration Detention

A student reflects on her visit to Eloy

Diana Ramos, who was detained at Eloy for over four years, discusses conditions within the facility (English voice-over).

Immigrant Diversity

Sort Stories By: Tags & National Issues

Details of private prisons are, like the prisoners themselves, locked to the outside world.

— Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Report, "Private Prisons: A Bastion of Secrecy," 2014

Contribute a Story

The Changing Face of Undocumented Immigrants in Arizona

Painting the Faces of Detention

The Economics of Immigrant Detention

Diana Ramos, who was detained at Eloy for over four years, discusses conditions within the facility (English voice-over).

Private Corrections Officers - Why is Turnover so High

Opinion Poll: Vote Now!

Should your university or company have the right to ask about someone's prior convictions in their admission or job application?

Shape the debate

Responses to Detention: Artists, Activists, and the Immigrant Community

A student reflects on her visit to Eloy

Eloy and the Dream 9

Death in Custody

The Human Cost of Immigration Detention

Profiting from Detention

Immigrant Diversity

Sort Stories By: Tags & National Issues

Details of private prisons are, like the prisoners themselves, locked to the outside world.

— Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Report, "Private Prisons: A Bastion of Secrecy," 2014

National Exhibition Venue Burton Barr Central Library, Phoenix Public Library

Public Dialogues and Events
| September 5 – October 27, 2018

See Full Exhibition & Events Schedule

Sep 7, 2018

Inmates at Tent City wear Maricopa County’s standard-issue jail garb, with old-fashioned, black-and-white horizontal stripes, in 2006. Credit: David Wallace Courtesy of: The Republic

Inmates at Tent City wear Maricopa County’s standard-issue jail garb, with old-fashioned, black-and-white horizontal stripes, in 2006. Credit: David Wallace Courtesy of: The Republic

Friday, September 7, 2018

AZ: Exhibit Launch and Documentary Screening

Description:

Produced by historian Dr. Judith Perera, the film 1994 reveals the history of noncitizen detention in the United States with a focus on the development of immigrant detention in Arizona.read more…

Time:

7-9 PM

Venue:

Burton Barr Central Library

Pulliam Auditorium - 1st Floor

1221 N. Central Ave.

Phoenix, AZ 85004

Sep 22, 2018

A group of participants sitting in chairs look on as a man standing at a mic is speaking.

Participants listen as Deivi Cruz shares his story at Mass Story Lab: The Texas Incarceration Maze. This event, facilitated by Piper Anderson, explored the intersections of mass incarceration and mass detention.

Saturday, September 22, 2018

AZ: Cuentos de Fortaleza/Stories of Strength: Detention in the Southwest

Description:

Join us for this special storytelling event to amplify the voices of people impacted by immigrant detention. Register for free here. To learn more about the Mass Story Lab methodology visit MassStoryLab.com. read more…

Time:

1-4 PM

Venue:

Burton Barr Central Library

Pullium Auditorium, 1st Floor

1221 N. Central Ave

Phoenix, AZ 85004

Oct 2, 2018

Cover of the book American Gulag by Mark Dow. The image shows a group of men in orange jumpsuits at an immigration detention facility. They are standing in front of a chain link fence and being patted down by uniformed officers.

American Gulag: Inside U.S. Immigration Prisons, a book by Mark Dow publiched in 2004.

Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Who Cares About Immigrant Detention?: Ignorance, Brutality, and Reasons for Optimism

Description:

The latest assault on immigrants and non-citizens will destroy many lives before it is finished. But these attacks will be defeated for precisely the same reason that they are now energized: America has evolved. Join us for a lecture and conversation with Mark Dow, author of American Gulag: Inside U.S. Immigration Prisons.

Dow’s awareness of immigrant detention began in 1990 when he started teaching English at Miami's Krome Detention Center and, soon after, went to work for the Haitian Refugee Center. Over the next decade he visited jails and detention centers around the country and interviewed detainees, immigration officers, and prison...read more…

Time:

5-6:30 PM

Venue:

Pima Auditorium, Memorial Union

Arizona State University, Tempe

301 E. Orange St.

Tempe, AZ 85281

Oct 5, 2018

Friday, October 5, 2018

AZ: Confinement + Liberation: Finding Freedom in Spaces of Incarceration

Description:

Aliento First Friday Open Mic is a welcoming space for people to be whole, feel safe, and be in community. Come listen to and/or share your stories, songs, poems, and dances that connect us, unite us, and make us feel alive in our community. For more information visit alientoaz.org.read more…

Time:

7-9 PM

Venue:

Burton Barr Central Library

2nd Floor

1221 N. Central Ave

Phoenix, AZ 85004

Oct 13, 2018

Saturday, October 13, 2018

AZ: Discussion with Dr. Julian Kunnie

Description:

Is incarceration the best approach to address criminal behavior? Private-for-profit prisons in Arizona and the country are a lucrative industry, viewed by some as contributing to the rise in incarceration. What exonomic, political and science factors play a role in today's mass incarceration? Join us for this discussion with University of Arizona professor, Dr. Julian Kunnie, on the impact of mass incarceration. read more…

Time:

2-4 PM

Venue:

Burton Barr Central Library

Pulliam Auditorium - 1st floor

1221 N. Central Ave

Phoenix, AZ 85004

Click on a state to learn more.

States of Incarceration is coming to Wilmington, NC

Public Dialogues and Events
| September 5 – October 27, 2018

AZ: Exhibit Launch and Documentary Screening

AZ: Cuentos de Fortaleza/Stories of Strength: Detention in the Southwest

Who Cares About Immigrant Detention?: Ignorance, Brutality, and Reasons for Optimism

AZ: Confinement + Liberation: Finding Freedom in Spaces of Incarceration

AZ: Discussion with Dr. Julian Kunnie

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States of Incarceration is coming to Wilmington, NC

Public Dialogues and Events | September 5 – October 27, 2018

AZ: Exhibit Launch and Documentary Screening

AZ: Cuentos de Fortaleza/Stories of Strength: Detention in the Southwest

Who Cares About Immigrant Detention?: Ignorance, Brutality, and Reasons for Optimism

AZ: Confinement + Liberation: Finding Freedom in Spaces of Incarceration

AZ: Discussion with Dr. Julian Kunnie

Arizona

California

Connecticut

Florida

Georgia

Illinois

Indiana

Louisiana

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina

Ohio

Rhode Island

Tennessee

Texas

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National Issues

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Public Dialogues and Events
| September 5 – October 27, 2018