Editor’s note: The following article was originally published by Sharon Zhang on Truthout on January 23, 2025.
“Look at what members of Congress are invested in private prison companies … and look at the votes on this bill.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) slammed the Laken Riley Act in a speech on the House floor on Wednesday, pointing out that some House members may have financial incentives to vote for the extremist anti-immigrant, pro-carceral bill: their own bank accounts.
In a fiery speech, the lawmaker said that the bill — which allowsimmigration authorities to detain immigrants who have been arrested over accusations of theft — makes a mockery of Americans’ civil rights and due process.
“We’re seeing a fundamental erosion of civil rights in this bill. If a person is so much as accused of a crime, if someone wants to point a finger and accuse someone of shoplifting, they will be rounded up and put into a private detention camp and sent out for deportation without a day in court — without a moment to assert the privilege of innocent until proven guilty,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
She went on to point out that the private prison industry, which lobbies intensely in Washington, will benefit greatly from the massive influx of incarceration that the bill will cause if signed into law. Private prisons have already begun to see a rise in their stock values as the bill has moved through Congress, over the supposed value proposition of the Trump presidency and increased imprisonment of immigrants.
“Private prison companies are going to get flooded with money,” Ocasio-Cortez warned, pointing out that the bill is slated to cost $83 billion over three years.
