Reply #79: Another NPR story on ALEC's role in the Arizona immigration law

[highplainsdem]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130833741

Prison Economics Help Drive Ariz. Immigration Law
by Laura Sullivan
October 28, 2010

-snip-

The 50 or so people in the room included officials of the Corrections Corporation of America, according to two sources who were there.

Pearce and the Corrections Corporation of America have been coming to these meetings for years. Both have seats on one of several of ALEC's boards.

And this bill was an important one for the company. According to Corrections Corporation of America reports reviewed by NPR, executives believe immigrant detention is their next big market. Last year, they wrote that they expect to bring in "a significant portion of our revenues" from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that detains illegal immigrants.

In the conference room, the group decided they would turn the immigration idea into a model bill. They discussed and debated language. Then, they voted on it.

-snip-

The article points out that Pearce's bill had 36 co-sponsors -- "a number almost unheard of in the capitol" -- and 2/3 of them either went to that ALEC meeting or are ALEC members. Of those 36, 30 received donations from prison lobbyists or prison companies over the next 6 months. Including CCA, which helped write the bill.