Detention's Unseen Toll
THE ACTORS: Who Profit from Neglect? The Dilley Processing Center, where this measles outbreak is contained, isn't run by ICE directly. It's operated under contract by CoreCivic (formerly Corrections Corporation of America), one of the largest private prison corporations in the US. ICE acts as the client, paying CoreCivic per detainee. This setup creates perverse incentives: maximum occupancy,
minimal expense. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is quoted as saying "all movement" is stopped, a standard but insufficient reactive measure. The key actors are not just the government agencies, but the private corporations profiting from the detention infrastructure. THE FUNDING: A Business Model Built on Bodies CoreCivic is a publicly traded company. In 2023, the federal government
contributed nearly 50% of CoreCivic's total revenue, amounting to approximately $800 million. ICE contracts specifically for facilities like Dilley often operate on a 'bed day' quota, meaning the government pays for a minimum number of beds whether they're full or not. This incentivizes sustained, high levels of detention. This model was heavily criticized in a 2016 report by the Department of
Justice's Office of the Inspector General, which found private facilities had more safety and security incidents compared to federal ones, yet the contracts persisted (DOJ OIG, 2016). THE INCENTIVES: Risk Transfer, Profit Maximization For CoreCivic, the incentive is simple: maximize profit margins by minimizing operational costs, including healthcare. For government agencies, outsourcing provides