ICE Turns to Disaster-Relief Firms to Build Detention Camps
Also today: A call for a reality check on transit and crime, and Neom’s desert ski resort project is proving hard to pull off.
President Donald Trump tours the Everglades detention center, the so-called Alligator Alcatraz, on July 1.
Photographer: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFPWith $45 billion earmarked for the Trump administration’s expansion of immigration detention, dozens of companies are gunning for contracts to build the sprawling tent camps at the center of the White House’s strategy. Some are prison operators that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement typically works with; many are firms with no detention experience.
Their appeal: They can build things fast. Several specialize in building tents for disaster-relief operations, including the Virginia-based company recently awarded $1.26 billion to construct the largest facility in the US. The administration’s reliance on makeshift tent camps is drawing concerns about abuse, mismanagement and corruption. Human-rights groups and lawyers for detainees have already alleged inhumane conditions at “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Florida Everglades, which the state denies. Read more from Rachel Adams-Heard, Sophie Alexander and Fola Akinnibi today on Businessweek: Companies With No Detention Experience Want to Run Trump’s ICE Camps