Since President Donald Trump was elected, the private prison system has taken several gains; and with new policies underway, they’ll continue to do so.
As reported by USA Today, private prisons have contributed lump sums to pro-Trump groups including one organization who raised a record $100 million for his inauguration.
On Thursday, the Justice Department reversed former President Barack Obama’s order to cease the usage of private-prison contracts in the federal Bureau of Prisons. It was made official through a memo by the newly sworn-in Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Just a few months ago, under the authority of Attorney General Loretta Lynch, the Justice Department issued a report revealing that privately operated federal prisons are more dangerous than those managed by the federal Bureau of Prisons.
Following the election of the 45th President, private prisons have been heavily impacted. This includes stock prices for the nation’s two largest private prison corporations dramatically rising since the election.
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The shares of prison contractor CoreCivic (formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America) has risen 57 percent while GEO Group shares rose nearly 35 percent.
In addition to stocks rising, prison labor for inmates have also been in question as a Massachusetts sheriff offered his inmates as workers to build Trump’s ‘wall’ along the Mexican border.
“I can think of no other project that would have such a positive impact on our inmates and our country than building this wall,” Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson said.
CNBC has described the political shift with a new administration as “nothing short of a game changer for the beleaguered private prison contractor industry.”