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suffragette
suffragette's Journal
suffragette's Journal
July 7, 2018
Sketchy facial recognition studies and government intelligence - next stage for Russia and Cambridge
Analytical (whatever their new name is) and Trump campaign?
There’s an article today about Kosinski claiming that he can use facial recognition technology to identify sexual orientation and political ideology/affiliation. His claims are controversial, but Russian Intelligence was interested enough to fly him over for a presentation.
Kosinski is one of the scientists whose previous research was scooped up by Cambridge Analytica and used to manipulate voters in the Presidential election.
At the least, it looks like some kind of manipulation incorporating facial recognition tech might be on the horizon. At worst, imagine this technology and research ‘results’ being used to target people, based on their perceived orientation, politics, etc.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/07/artificial-intelligence-can-tell-your-sexuality-politics-surveillance-paul-lewis
Vladimir Putin was not in attendance, but his loyal lieutenants were. On 14 July last year, the Russian prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, and several members of his cabinet convened in an office building on the outskirts of Moscow. On to the stage stepped a boyish-looking psychologist, Michal Kosinski, who had been flown from the city centre by helicopter to share his research. “There was Lavrov, in the first row,” he recalls several months later, referring to Russia’s foreign minister. “You know, a guy who starts wars and takes over countries.” Kosinski, a 36-year-old assistant professor of organisational behaviour at Stanford University, was flattered that the Russian cabinet would gather to listen to him talk. “Those guys strike me as one of the most competent and well-informed groups,” he tells me. “They did their homework. They read my stuff.”
Kosinski’s “stuff” includes groundbreaking research into technology, mass persuasion and artificial intelligence (AI) – research that inspired the creation of the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica. Five years ago, while a graduate student at Cambridge University, he showed how even benign activity on Facebook could reveal personality traits – a discovery that was later exploited by the data-analytics firm that helped put Donald Trump in the White House.
That would be enough to make Kosinski interesting to the Russian cabinet. But his audience would also have been intrigued by his work on the use of AI to detect psychological traits. Weeks after his trip to Moscow, Kosinski published a controversial paper in which he showed how face-analysing algorithms could distinguish between photographs of gay and straight people. As well as sexuality, he believes this technology could be used to detect emotions, IQ and even a predisposition to commit certain crimes. Kosinski has also used algorithms to distinguish between the faces of Republicans and Democrats, in an unpublished experiment he says was successful – although he admits the results can change “depending on whether I include beards or not”.
~~~
In one of our final conversations, Kosinski tells me he shouldn’t have talked about his visit to Moscow, because his hosts asked him not to. It would not be “elegant” to mention it in the Guardian, he says, and besides, “it is an irrelevant fact”. I point out that he already left a fairly big clue on Facebook, where he posted an image of himself onboard a helicopter with the caption: “Taking off to give a talk for Prime Minister Medvedev.” He later changed his privacy settings: the photo was no longer public, but for “friends only”.
Kosinski’s “stuff” includes groundbreaking research into technology, mass persuasion and artificial intelligence (AI) – research that inspired the creation of the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica. Five years ago, while a graduate student at Cambridge University, he showed how even benign activity on Facebook could reveal personality traits – a discovery that was later exploited by the data-analytics firm that helped put Donald Trump in the White House.
That would be enough to make Kosinski interesting to the Russian cabinet. But his audience would also have been intrigued by his work on the use of AI to detect psychological traits. Weeks after his trip to Moscow, Kosinski published a controversial paper in which he showed how face-analysing algorithms could distinguish between photographs of gay and straight people. As well as sexuality, he believes this technology could be used to detect emotions, IQ and even a predisposition to commit certain crimes. Kosinski has also used algorithms to distinguish between the faces of Republicans and Democrats, in an unpublished experiment he says was successful – although he admits the results can change “depending on whether I include beards or not”.
~~~
In one of our final conversations, Kosinski tells me he shouldn’t have talked about his visit to Moscow, because his hosts asked him not to. It would not be “elegant” to mention it in the Guardian, he says, and besides, “it is an irrelevant fact”. I point out that he already left a fairly big clue on Facebook, where he posted an image of himself onboard a helicopter with the caption: “Taking off to give a talk for Prime Minister Medvedev.” He later changed his privacy settings: the photo was no longer public, but for “friends only”.
June 28, 2018
Talk about your pattern of criminal behavior.
Seattle ICE lawyer facing prison time for stealing identities of would-be immigrants
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/seattle-ice-lawyer-facing-prison-time-for-stealing-identities-of-would-be-immigrants/Federal prosecutors and defense attorneys have agreed to recommend a four-year prison sentence for the former chief attorney for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Seattle for stealing the identities of immigrants to defraud banks and credit-card companies.
~~~
As the lead attorney responsible for providing ICE agents with legal counsel and overseeing deportation and asylum hearings in four states, the 44-year-old Sanchez “was entrusted with ensuring the honest enforcement” of the country’s immigration laws.
~~~
Sanchez is the second Seattle-based ICE attorney to face legal trouble in recent years.
In April 2016, Jonathan Love, a former ICE prosecutor, was sentenced to 30 days in custody after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor for forging a document to make it look like a Mexican citizen who wanted to stay in the U.S. was not eligible to do so. Love was an assistant chief counsel for ICE in Seattle before his resignation.
~~~
As the lead attorney responsible for providing ICE agents with legal counsel and overseeing deportation and asylum hearings in four states, the 44-year-old Sanchez “was entrusted with ensuring the honest enforcement” of the country’s immigration laws.
~~~
Sanchez is the second Seattle-based ICE attorney to face legal trouble in recent years.
In April 2016, Jonathan Love, a former ICE prosecutor, was sentenced to 30 days in custody after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor for forging a document to make it look like a Mexican citizen who wanted to stay in the U.S. was not eligible to do so. Love was an assistant chief counsel for ICE in Seattle before his resignation.
Talk about your pattern of criminal behavior.
June 27, 2018
Republicans failed to pass immigration reform on Wednesday, despite party dominance in government and a president elected on his vision to crackdown on illegal immigration, narrow legal entry and build a wall along the US-Mexico border.
The measure fell short, as it was widely expected to do, but in a heavier than expected defeat, after repeated attempts to pass an overhaul of the immigration laws, despite a last minute intervention by Donald Trump:
Republican immigration overhaul fails in heavier than expected defeat
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/27/republican-immigration-overhaul-fails-in-heavier-than-expected-defeatRepublicans failed to pass immigration reform on Wednesday, despite party dominance in government and a president elected on his vision to crackdown on illegal immigration, narrow legal entry and build a wall along the US-Mexico border.
The measure fell short, as it was widely expected to do, but in a heavier than expected defeat, after repeated attempts to pass an overhaul of the immigration laws, despite a last minute intervention by Donald Trump:
June 25, 2018
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/25/trump-repeats-call-to-deprive-undocumented-migrants-due-process
Trump doubles down on rejecting due process
Trump repeats call to deport undocumented migrants without due processhttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/25/trump-repeats-call-to-deprive-undocumented-migrants-due-process
Donald Trump on Monday again issued a call to deprive undocumented immigrants of their right to due process, arguing that people trying to cross the border should be summarily deported without a trial or an appearance before a judge.
Trump’s sustained attacks on the American judicial system come amid extraordinary condemnation of his administration’s zero-tolerance enforcement policy at the southern border, which led to more than 2,300 children being separated from their families in recent months. Trump last week was pressured into halting his administration’s practice of separating families, in an abrupt reversal that overruled the views of his hardline advisers.
“Hiring many thousands of judges, and going through a long and complicated legal process, is not the way to go – will always be disfunctional [sic]. People must simply be stopped at the Border and told they cannot come into the U.S. illegally,” Trump said via Twitter on Monday. “Children brought back to their country......”
~~~
The statement, which is tantamount to a proposal for the suspension of law, compounds an already confusing situation as Republican lawmakers scrambled to build a consensus around immigration legislation, and federal agencies work to reunite migrant families separated under Trump’s policy, with many children now scattered across the US without their parents.
Trump’s sustained attacks on the American judicial system come amid extraordinary condemnation of his administration’s zero-tolerance enforcement policy at the southern border, which led to more than 2,300 children being separated from their families in recent months. Trump last week was pressured into halting his administration’s practice of separating families, in an abrupt reversal that overruled the views of his hardline advisers.
“Hiring many thousands of judges, and going through a long and complicated legal process, is not the way to go – will always be disfunctional [sic]. People must simply be stopped at the Border and told they cannot come into the U.S. illegally,” Trump said via Twitter on Monday. “Children brought back to their country......”
~~~
The statement, which is tantamount to a proposal for the suspension of law, compounds an already confusing situation as Republican lawmakers scrambled to build a consensus around immigration legislation, and federal agencies work to reunite migrant families separated under Trump’s policy, with many children now scattered across the US without their parents.
June 24, 2018
From NBC today:
https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/immigration-border-crisis/where-s-my-kid-texas-border-desperate-parents-turn-attorneys-n886181
DHS said late Saturday that more than 2,000 children have been reunited with parents. More were expected before the weekend is up. Officials said Port Isabel would be its reunification center.
The numbers of children separated and reunited aren't adding up.
Anyone else notice that the numbers of children separated from parents don’t seem to be adding up?
Especially when compared to those supposedly reunited and what then would be the ones who are still being held alone.
From NPR last week:
https://www.npr.org/2018/06/19/621065383/what-we-know-family-separation-and-zero-tolerance-at-the-border
Since early May, 2,342 children have been separated from their parents after crossing the Southern U.S. border, according to the Department of Homeland Security, as part of a new immigration strategy by the Trump administration that has prompted widespread outcry.U.S. border, according to the Department of Homeland Security, as part of a new immigration strategy by the Trump administration that has prompted widespread outcry.
From NBC today:
https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/immigration-border-crisis/where-s-my-kid-texas-border-desperate-parents-turn-attorneys-n886181
DHS said late Saturday that more than 2,000 children have been reunited with parents. More were expected before the weekend is up. Officials said Port Isabel would be its reunification center.
June 24, 2018
The second article shows some of the artifacts, arranged into the categories of Oppression, Resistance and Optimism. These images are moving, in ways ranging from horrific to hopeful. Given our current immersion into yet another cycle of hate and struggle to overcome it, I think viewing these and fully acknowledging our past and envisioning our future is more important than ever.
https://projects.seattletimes.com/2018/artifacts-of-injustice/
One image that especially stood out for me is the picture of two brothers who volunteered for the Union army.
The larger image is of two brothers who have signed up to fight in the Civil War with the United States Colored Troops, or USCT, a volunteer regiment out of Connecticut. “You can see in their eyes, both the fear and the hope, and they’re holding each other’s hands. It’s just a very emotional, moving moment that shows that, yes, they’re proud to be in their uniforms, but they’re scared, as they should be. It’s the real human face of the war, and we imagine that the cause meant so much to them to fight for their freedom.” It’s unknown what happened to them afterward.
ARTIFACTS OF INJUSTICE: From Oppression to Resistance to Optimism
The Seattle Times has a pair of articles today about the importance of learning and acknowledging our history in the United States, especially how our history of slavery and the struggle for civil rights has shaped who we are as a people and nation.
The first article is about how and why a man in Seattle gathered an extraordinary collection of historical artifacts, in the effort “to preserve history that has been “very deliberately overlooked and very deliberately distorted.”
Coopersmith began collecting in the 1970s because, “growing up in Washington, D.C., I witnessed history and I saw people struggle over that story.” He saw there was history behind the political and social conflicts of the 1960s and ’70s. “I knew that this story wasn’t really being told because I could see it.” He collected both items associated with famous people and those not.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-man-collects-thousands-of-rare-artifacts-that-reveal-americas-past-and-present-and-how-little-we-know/
Here in Seattle, attorney Jeffrey Coopersmith has spent five decades collecting thousands of items that trace American history from colonial times through Barack Obama’s presidency.
The artifacts spotlight women’s suffrage, Japanese-American internment, and the anti-Chinese immigrant fervor that led to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. But the great majority focus on slavery and the oppression and resistance that followed.
“Too many people do not appreciate how central this story is to our success and our flaws as a country,” Coopersmith said. “It was not a side story. It was the story.”
The artifacts spotlight women’s suffrage, Japanese-American internment, and the anti-Chinese immigrant fervor that led to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. But the great majority focus on slavery and the oppression and resistance that followed.
“Too many people do not appreciate how central this story is to our success and our flaws as a country,” Coopersmith said. “It was not a side story. It was the story.”
The second article shows some of the artifacts, arranged into the categories of Oppression, Resistance and Optimism. These images are moving, in ways ranging from horrific to hopeful. Given our current immersion into yet another cycle of hate and struggle to overcome it, I think viewing these and fully acknowledging our past and envisioning our future is more important than ever.
https://projects.seattletimes.com/2018/artifacts-of-injustice/
One image that especially stood out for me is the picture of two brothers who volunteered for the Union army.
The larger image is of two brothers who have signed up to fight in the Civil War with the United States Colored Troops, or USCT, a volunteer regiment out of Connecticut. “You can see in their eyes, both the fear and the hope, and they’re holding each other’s hands. It’s just a very emotional, moving moment that shows that, yes, they’re proud to be in their uniforms, but they’re scared, as they should be. It’s the real human face of the war, and we imagine that the cause meant so much to them to fight for their freedom.” It’s unknown what happened to them afterward.
June 22, 2018
People seeking asylum keep better track of themselves than the US Gov't does after imprisoning them
This is from a live blog The Guardian is running today, so if you click on the link, you’ll need to scroll down to see this item. Much more there that is worthwhile to see.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2018/jun/22/trump-family-separation-crisis-immigration-border
Despite the large numbers of people from Central America waiting at the US border in Tijuana, Mexico, the scene is remarkably ordered and cooperative.
The people are initially strangers to each other, brought together in an alien location.
It’s not risk-free at the shelters and while lining up at the border, but the atmosphere is largely one of stoicism and mutual assistance. As well as an informal numbered ticketing system for the queue, devised by migrants themselves, those waiting put themselves forward as volunteers to manage the list of names seeking asylum. On Friday morning, a Honduran man was looking after the list and he was ready to hand over to someone else when his turn came to get ready to cross the border.
So, far from a Lord of the Flies-type breakdown in social order, as you might expect if you only listened to Donald Trump’s name-calling and aspersion-casting, these would-be immigrants are more inclined to help one another as they wait and hope to escape from dire straits.
The people are initially strangers to each other, brought together in an alien location.
It’s not risk-free at the shelters and while lining up at the border, but the atmosphere is largely one of stoicism and mutual assistance. As well as an informal numbered ticketing system for the queue, devised by migrants themselves, those waiting put themselves forward as volunteers to manage the list of names seeking asylum. On Friday morning, a Honduran man was looking after the list and he was ready to hand over to someone else when his turn came to get ready to cross the border.
So, far from a Lord of the Flies-type breakdown in social order, as you might expect if you only listened to Donald Trump’s name-calling and aspersion-casting, these would-be immigrants are more inclined to help one another as they wait and hope to escape from dire straits.
June 20, 2018
Pramila Jayapal "We cannot let up until we have a humane system in place."
She nails it on all counts.
https://twitter.com/RepJayapal/status/1009562047225290752
June 20, 2018
From April 2017:
https://apnews.com/adbd71efcfaf4b9a96c379face79fbe9/private-prison-company-struggles-get-license-family
Prison company struggles to get license to hold children
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/20/politics/trump-separation-action-immigration/index.html
Trump's exec order is same as GEO Group pushed Republicans to enact last year to increase profits.
GEO Group and CoreCivic both operate family detention centers that had population drops last year.
In May 2017, Newsweek reported on the bill that GEO pushed to change law to be able to detain immigrant children indefinitely. A Republican Representative even stated that the legislation came from GEO Group. GEO Group also pumped money into a PAC and into Republicans’ campaigns, much as they have already done for Trump.
Even with all this, they could not pass this law last year.
This year Trump and Sessions created a crisis by enacting a policy separating families. After first saying he could not change this, Trump is signing an executive order which sounds exactly like the law GEO Group wanted to be able to fill their family detention centers.
http://www.newsweek.com/geo-group-private-prisons-immigration-detention-trump-596505
PRIVATE PRISON COMPANY GEO GROUP GAVE GENEROUSLY TO TRUMP AND NOW HAS LUCRATIVE CONTRACT
Within the Texas legislature, a controversial bill is pending. A private prisons company called the GEO Group has allegedly asked Republicans to submit a law that could lead to immigrant children being indefinitely detained in its lucrative centers.
Representatives John Raney, John Cyrier and Mark Keough—all Republicans—have authored legislation that, if passed, would allow immigration detention centers to obtain child care licenses. Equipped with the permits, the centers would then be able to circumvent a 2015 federal ruling that said detained immigrant children must be transferred to a child care facility after 20 days in detention.
Raney, Cyrier and Keough’s bill would not require the detention centers to change their setups, but it could significantly benefit them. The GEO Group, which runs the Karnes Residential Center—one of two family detention facilities in Texas—earns $55 million annually from the facility. At present, just 100 of its 830 beds are occupied, according to the Associated Press.
This perhaps explains why the GEO Group—despite having a Greek immigrant, George Zoley as its CEO—is so keen to see Raney, Cyrier and Keough’s bill pass. So keen, in fact, that the organization essentially wrotePrison company struggles to get license to hold children it. “I’ve known the lady who's [the GEO Group’s] lobbyist for a long time,” Raney told the Associated Press. That's where the legislation came from. We don't make things up. People bring things to us and ask us to help.”
Representatives John Raney, John Cyrier and Mark Keough—all Republicans—have authored legislation that, if passed, would allow immigration detention centers to obtain child care licenses. Equipped with the permits, the centers would then be able to circumvent a 2015 federal ruling that said detained immigrant children must be transferred to a child care facility after 20 days in detention.
Raney, Cyrier and Keough’s bill would not require the detention centers to change their setups, but it could significantly benefit them. The GEO Group, which runs the Karnes Residential Center—one of two family detention facilities in Texas—earns $55 million annually from the facility. At present, just 100 of its 830 beds are occupied, according to the Associated Press.
This perhaps explains why the GEO Group—despite having a Greek immigrant, George Zoley as its CEO—is so keen to see Raney, Cyrier and Keough’s bill pass. So keen, in fact, that the organization essentially wrotePrison company struggles to get license to hold children it. “I’ve known the lady who's [the GEO Group’s] lobbyist for a long time,” Raney told the Associated Press. That's where the legislation came from. We don't make things up. People bring things to us and ask us to help.”
From April 2017:
https://apnews.com/adbd71efcfaf4b9a96c379face79fbe9/private-prison-company-struggles-get-license-family
Prison company struggles to get license to hold children
The Karnes Residential Center, 60 miles south of San Antonio, opened as a family detention center in 2014 and used to hold detainees for months, until a federal judge ruled that children held longer than 20 days must be housed in “non-secure” facilities with child care licenses.
~~~
State Sen. Bryan Hughes, another Republican and sponsor of the Senate bill, said the family facilities will probably close without licenses. He said he remains confident the bill will advance because “illegal immigration is one of the top, if not the No. 1 concern of people in Texas.”
GEO Group’s political action committee has spent up to $320,000 lobbying the Texas Legislature since January and contributed $193,000 to Texas lawmakers’ campaigns since 2013, according to Texans for Public Justice, a left-leaning political watchdog group that compiled its findings using Texas Ethics Commission filings.
~~~
Based in Boca Raton, Florida, GEO earns about $55 million annually from Karnes, its only family facility. Karnes’ population has plummeted to about 100 in the 830-bed facility. The state’s other family facility, the 2,400-bed South Texas Residential Center, is run by CoreCivic, America’s largest private prison operator. Its population has dropped to about 200.
~~~
State Sen. Bryan Hughes, another Republican and sponsor of the Senate bill, said the family facilities will probably close without licenses. He said he remains confident the bill will advance because “illegal immigration is one of the top, if not the No. 1 concern of people in Texas.”
GEO Group’s political action committee has spent up to $320,000 lobbying the Texas Legislature since January and contributed $193,000 to Texas lawmakers’ campaigns since 2013, according to Texans for Public Justice, a left-leaning political watchdog group that compiled its findings using Texas Ethics Commission filings.
~~~
Based in Boca Raton, Florida, GEO earns about $55 million annually from Karnes, its only family facility. Karnes’ population has plummeted to about 100 in the 830-bed facility. The state’s other family facility, the 2,400-bed South Texas Residential Center, is run by CoreCivic, America’s largest private prison operator. Its population has dropped to about 200.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/20/politics/trump-separation-action-immigration/index.html
Even so, the move is almost certain to face immediate legal action challenging the administration's authority to keep families detained at length.
The President was not required to sign anything to change the administration's practice that elicited outrage. He could have reversed the practice of splitting children from their parents with a phone call.
The President was not required to sign anything to change the administration's practice that elicited outrage. He could have reversed the practice of splitting children from their parents with a phone call.
June 18, 2018
JUDGE REJECTS FOR-PROFIT NORTHWEST DETENTION CENTER OPERATOR’S MOTION TO DISMISS AG LAWSUIT
https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/judge-rejects-profit-northwest-detention-center-operator-s-motion-dismiss-ag
Apr 26 2018
Lawsuit alleges multi-billion dollar corporation violates state minimum wage law by paying workers $1 per day
OLYMPIA — A federal judge today rejected an effort by the Northwest Detention Center’s operator, GEO Group, Inc. (GEO), to dismiss Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s lawsuit against the company for allegedly violating Washington’s minimum wage laws.
“The court is clear: GEO cannot avoid accountability by hiding behind its contract with ICE,” Ferguson said. “This is an important step toward holding this multi-billion dollar company accountable for exploiting its detainee workers in Washington by not following our minimum wage laws.”
GEO uses immigration detainee labor to perform virtually all non-security functions at Tacoma’s Northwest Detention Center (NWDC), the only private detention facility in the state. Since at least 2005, GEO has paid thousands of detainee workers $1 per day or, in some instances, snacks and extra food for labor that is necessary to keep NWDC operational. Washington’s minimum wage is $11.50 per hour.
Geo Group Inc (The) REIT (GEO) Moves Higher on Volume Spike for June 15
https://www.equities.com/news/geo-group-inc-the-reit-geo-moves-higher-on-volume-spike-for-june-15
Edit to add:
In May 2017, Newsweek reported on bill that GEO pushed to change law to be able to detain immigrant children indefinitely
http://www.newsweek.com/geo-group-private-prisons-immigration-detention-trump-596505
PRIVATE PRISON COMPANY GEO GROUP GAVE GENEROUSLY TO TRUMP AND NOW HAS LUCRATIVE CONTRACT
Within the Texas legislature, a controversial bill is pending. A private prisons company called the GEO Group has allegedly asked Republicans to submit a law that could lead to immigrant children being indefinitely detained in its lucrative centers.
Representatives John Raney, John Cyrier and Mark Keough—all Republicans—have authored legislation that, if passed, would allow immigration detention centers to obtain child care licenses. Equipped with the permits, the centers would then be able to circumvent a 2015 federal ruling that said detained immigrant children must be transferred to a child care facility after 20 days in detention.
Raney, Cyrier and Keough’s bill would not require the detention centers to change their setups, but it could significantly benefit them. The GEO Group, which runs the Karnes Residential Center—one of two family detention facilities in Texas—earns $55 million annually from the facility. At present, just 100 of its 830 beds are occupied, according to the Associated Press.
This perhaps explains why the GEO Group—despite having a Greek immigrant, George Zoley as its CEO—is so keen to see Raney, Cyrier and Keough’s bill pass. So keen, in fact, that the organization essentially wrote it. “I’ve known the lady who's [the GEO Group’s] lobbyist for a long time,” Raney told the Associated Press. That's where the legislation came from. We don't make things up. People bring things to us and ask us to help.”
GEO private prisons profit from immigrant detention in contracts and labor. Stocks spike, too.
And of course, they support Trump, cycling some of the profit back to him.
UPDATED: they are also pushing legislation to detain immigrant children indefinitely.
Big Money As Private Immigrant Jails Boom
https://www.npr.org/2017/11/21/565318778/big-money-as-private-immigrant-jails-boom
The Trump administration wants to expand its network of immigrant jails. In recent months, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has called for five new detention facilities to be built and operated by private prison corporations across the country. Critics are alarmed at the rising fortunes of an industry that had fallen out of favor with the previous administration.
~~~
The forced labor allegations are part of two class-action lawsuits in federal court.
GEO "strongly refutes" these claims and plans to fight them. In an emailed statement, the company says detainee labor is voluntary and immigrant workers are paid a dollar a day because that's the rate set by ICE. GEO also says it provides "culturally responsive services in safe and humane environments," and that all of its facilities comply with national detention standards.
~~~
The two largest private corrections corporations, GEO Group and CoreCivic, each gave $250,000 to Trump's inaugural festivities.
~~~
The forced labor allegations are part of two class-action lawsuits in federal court.
GEO "strongly refutes" these claims and plans to fight them. In an emailed statement, the company says detainee labor is voluntary and immigrant workers are paid a dollar a day because that's the rate set by ICE. GEO also says it provides "culturally responsive services in safe and humane environments," and that all of its facilities comply with national detention standards.
~~~
The two largest private corrections corporations, GEO Group and CoreCivic, each gave $250,000 to Trump's inaugural festivities.
JUDGE REJECTS FOR-PROFIT NORTHWEST DETENTION CENTER OPERATOR’S MOTION TO DISMISS AG LAWSUIT
https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/judge-rejects-profit-northwest-detention-center-operator-s-motion-dismiss-ag
Apr 26 2018
Lawsuit alleges multi-billion dollar corporation violates state minimum wage law by paying workers $1 per day
OLYMPIA — A federal judge today rejected an effort by the Northwest Detention Center’s operator, GEO Group, Inc. (GEO), to dismiss Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s lawsuit against the company for allegedly violating Washington’s minimum wage laws.
“The court is clear: GEO cannot avoid accountability by hiding behind its contract with ICE,” Ferguson said. “This is an important step toward holding this multi-billion dollar company accountable for exploiting its detainee workers in Washington by not following our minimum wage laws.”
GEO uses immigration detainee labor to perform virtually all non-security functions at Tacoma’s Northwest Detention Center (NWDC), the only private detention facility in the state. Since at least 2005, GEO has paid thousands of detainee workers $1 per day or, in some instances, snacks and extra food for labor that is necessary to keep NWDC operational. Washington’s minimum wage is $11.50 per hour.
Geo Group Inc (The) REIT (GEO) Moves Higher on Volume Spike for June 15
https://www.equities.com/news/geo-group-inc-the-reit-geo-moves-higher-on-volume-spike-for-june-15
Geo Group Inc (The) REIT (GEO) traded on unusually high volume on Jun. 15, as the stock gained 0.08% to close at $24.96. On the day, Geo Group Inc (The) REIT saw 1.34 million shares trade hands on 5,098 trades. Considering that the stock averages only a daily volume of 781,210 shares a day over the last month, this represents a pretty significant bump in volume over the norm.
Edit to add:
In May 2017, Newsweek reported on bill that GEO pushed to change law to be able to detain immigrant children indefinitely
http://www.newsweek.com/geo-group-private-prisons-immigration-detention-trump-596505
PRIVATE PRISON COMPANY GEO GROUP GAVE GENEROUSLY TO TRUMP AND NOW HAS LUCRATIVE CONTRACT
Within the Texas legislature, a controversial bill is pending. A private prisons company called the GEO Group has allegedly asked Republicans to submit a law that could lead to immigrant children being indefinitely detained in its lucrative centers.
Representatives John Raney, John Cyrier and Mark Keough—all Republicans—have authored legislation that, if passed, would allow immigration detention centers to obtain child care licenses. Equipped with the permits, the centers would then be able to circumvent a 2015 federal ruling that said detained immigrant children must be transferred to a child care facility after 20 days in detention.
Raney, Cyrier and Keough’s bill would not require the detention centers to change their setups, but it could significantly benefit them. The GEO Group, which runs the Karnes Residential Center—one of two family detention facilities in Texas—earns $55 million annually from the facility. At present, just 100 of its 830 beds are occupied, according to the Associated Press.
This perhaps explains why the GEO Group—despite having a Greek immigrant, George Zoley as its CEO—is so keen to see Raney, Cyrier and Keough’s bill pass. So keen, in fact, that the organization essentially wrote it. “I’ve known the lady who's [the GEO Group’s] lobbyist for a long time,” Raney told the Associated Press. That's where the legislation came from. We don't make things up. People bring things to us and ask us to help.”
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