Prisons are generally places thought to house individuals who have had their freedom take away due to the commission of a crime. Supposedly these bastions of terror are there to aid in rehabilitation and to properly prepare inmates for potential reentry into society.
We don’t usually think of prisons or jails as a conduit for human trafficking because, for the most part, it’s illegal in the United States.
Photo courtesy of the Orlando Sentinel.
But taking a closer look at what goes on in some prisons, and how some politicians and state governments have pursued the dollars of private prisons, we aren’t far from a legalized form of human trafficking and slavery.
Marco Rubio, the distinguished senator from Florida, and presidential candidate, has openly campaigned against human trafficking. In a 2013 press release, Rubio touted legislation he presented to “combat sex and labor trafficking in child welfare systems across the country…”
Rubio’s donor list may read contrary to what he supposedly believes. According to the Washington Post, Rubio has received upwards of $30,000 in campaign donations from a private prison organization, GEO Group.
By way of GEO’s website, the company owns or operates nearly 200 private facilities with over 85,000 beds. What makes their grab of beds and facilities gross is the language written into the contracts they sign with different states.
In some of the deals brokered by GEO and other private prisons companies, there is an occupancy requirement that states how full the prison must remain should a private company own or operate the prison.
Placing people in jail and ensuring the recidivism rate never decreases is, in one way, a form of human trafficking.
Trading human labor for an increase in a stock quote or added bonus is immoral and should be illogical.
So because Rubio has accepted campaign cash from this shade industry, does that mean that he’s in favor of human trafficking?
Kind of.
Campaign donations aren’t an automatic acceptance of an individual or company’s doctrine. But it may be a small or illegible co-sign.
Passing new laws and supporting and strengthening old ones are just a couple of ways politicians are lobbied to keep the beds full.
In an effort to keep his coffers brimming with money, Rubio is willing to help keep prisons loaded with new talent just so he has as much money as his opponent.
-JH
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