mvm

omg bizarre confluence of MIC and PIC! =2nd office found in same town, kids bathe in sinks DN<a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2018/06/zero-tolerance-immigration-is-big-money-for-contractors-nonprofits/">https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2018/06/zero-tolerance-immigration-is-big-money-for-contractors-nonprofits/</a>
no lnx‘Zero-tolerance’ immigration policy is big money for contractors, nonprofitsJune 21, 2018 | President Trump’s “zero-tolerance” immigration policy under the direction of Attorney General Jeff Sessions is big business for U.S. companies — from private prison and tech firms to defense and security contractors — as well as nonprofits.
...Under bipartisan pressure, Trump signed an executive order Wednesday ending the administration’s controversial child-separation policy. But Trump’s “zero-tolerance” policy, in which individuals who enter the U.S. illegally are prosecuted, will continue.
All this comes as the country grapples with harrowing images of babies stripped from their mothers’ arms and children playing soccer on the grounds of abandoned Walmart stores along the Southwest border.
Trump defended his policy in a campaign speech Wednesday in Minnesota. That came a day after the raid of an Ohio meat plant in which Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested 146 employees accused of being in the country illegally. It was the largest workforce raid in recent history, according to the agency.
ICE, which enforces the administration’s immigration policy, has allocated billions in federal contracts to private companies for software, consulting and manpower. Overall, the federal government has spent $4 billion since October 2016 — the start of 2017 fiscal year — on contracts and grants to counter illegal immigration. 
OpenSecrets analyzed the money going to these often high-profile, publicly traded companies as well as their political spending and lobbying, along with the nonprofits commissioned to care for minors.
Private Prisons and Security
Trump’s hardline approach to illegal immigration is a boon for private prisons and security companies.
In 2016, the Department of Justice under the Obama administration began phasing out for-profit prisons for federal inmates following a DOJ report that found poor management practices at one private facility contributed to an inmate riot that killed a prison guard in 2012.
The Trump administration, however, has embraced them — particularly as a solution for the high cost of detaining people who crossed the border illegally.
The 2012 inmate riot occurred inside a prison owned and operated by CoreCivic, formerly Corrections Corporation of America. Since 2017, CoreCivic has received $225 million in ICE funding to manage immigrant detention facilities, according to USASpending.gov data.
A subsidiary of the Tennessee-based company donated $250,000 toward Trump’s inaugural festivities last year.
Another $250,000 Trump inaugural donor — GEO Group — is the country’s largest for-profit prison operator and a multimillion-dollar beneficiary of the administration’s aggressive immigration policy.
The Florida-based company and its subsidiaries, which also gave $225,000 to a pro-Trump super PAC during the 2016 presidential election, have been paid $560 million over the last two fiscal years for contracts they hold with ICE.
GEO Group and its subsidiaries oversee a number of ICE detention facilities and have aggressively lobbied to secure contracts and influence the nation’s immigration policy. In 2017, the company spent $1.7 million on lobbying, the highest amount on record for a private prison contractor.
Aside from lobbying, the company has a prolific political action committee and a number of big-donor employees. So far in 2018, the company’s PAC and employees have contributed $727,000 to candidates — a total that is on track to continue the upward contribution trend.
The top three recipients are Texas House members — Republicans John Culberson and John Carter and Democrat Henry Cuellar, each having received at least $31,000 dollars.
While GEO certainly profits off keeping immigrants detained, they also make money once they’re released. A large share of ICE’s payments to GEO last year went to BI Inc., a subsidiary that provides ankle bracelets and monitoring services to track those awaiting trial for immigration violations.
BI first received an ICE contract in 2008 and was paid $10 million that year. Payments have grown steadily since then, topping out at $115 million in the 2017 fiscal year. 2018 totals are on track to surpass that.
MVM Inc., a Virginia-based private security contractor, has earned $115 million since 2017 through immigration-related ICE contracts. The company provided “security guards and patrol services” for $53.7 million, according to the contract description.
In 2017, the company was sued for workplace discrimination and had a lucrative CIA contract canceled for failing to provide enough security guards.
The company does not appear in lobbying disclosures. Company founder Dario Marquez Jr. is an active political donor, however. Since 1990, Marquez has given $212,321, including donations to Virginia Democrats Tim Kaine ($51,340) and Gerry Connolly ($29,100).
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