I just read some articles about prisons, including This Alien Life: Privatized Prisons for Immigrants, which is about increased government/law enforcement pressure on immigrant communities and how this crackdown has revived the once-lagging privitized prison industry. It mentions Florence, AZ, home to an Arizona state prison, two private prisons, and an detention center run by the Department of Homeland Security which houses immigrants, many of whom are being held pending deportation. We receive a significant number of letters from prisons in Florence, so it was really interesting to hear a bit of the background on the city, who, according to the article, has an economy that relies heavily on the prisons. The article also talks about some dynamics of immigration enforcement in general, the privatized prison industry, and abuses in that industry.
Also, speaking of Arizona, Chris, a pages volunteer, noticed this article in Bloomington's local paper, about the unlikelihood of further transfers of Arizona inmates to facilities in Indiana. Earlier this year, there were riots at a prison in New Castle, IN shortly after a number of Arizona inmates were transfered there. The article also mentions the closing of one Indiana prison and the closing of some units of another, which may effect the packages we sent getting to some prisoners (which can be difficult as it is) who will be transfered as a result of these closings.
