"These prisons for profit do not reflect our values," says Governor Newsom
LOS ANGELES – With the aim of gradually eliminate the use of private prisons for profit In California, the governor of this state, Gavin Newsom, signed a law that also includes terminate contracts for prisons and detention centers for immigrants.
The law AB 32 will prevent the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR, conclude or renew a contract with a private penitentiary company after January 1, 2020 and it will prevent the state from keeping inmates in prisons for profit after 2028.
"During my inaugural address I promised to end private prisons, as they contribute to excessive incarceration, including those who imprison California inmates and those who detain immigrants and asylum seekers," the governor said in a statement.
“These prisons for profit do not reflect our values”, he added about a measure that is approved in full effort by President Donald Trump for increase the numbers of migrant arrests with the intention of deporting them.
The two main private security companies in the country, GEO Group or CoreCivic, will be the most affected firms with the new measure, which had previously been approved by the California Legislature.
The author of the law, Democratic Assemblyman Rob Bonta, applauded the governor's decision and called it a historic moment for California.
"At the end of the use of private prisons for profit and detention centers, we are sending a powerful message that we vehemently oppose the practice of taking advantage of the backs of Californians in custody," Bonta said in a statement.
In the same way, the defenders of immigrants celebrated the signing of the law that It also prohibits the Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from contracting, modifying or extending a current contract with a private prison.
Christina Fialho, co-founder and executive director of Freedom for Immigrantshighlighted in a statement that "More than 70% of migrants who are in ICE custody are in private prisons."
The activist says that "closing immigrant prisons is an essential step towards the dismantling of a system that benefits from abuse and fills the pockets of private prison executives and industry shareholders."
Fialho warns that with the entry into force of this law ICE will not be able to renew contracts four facilities in the state that house approximately 4,000 people.
