More Bad News For The Private Prison Industry
Private prisons stocks were hit with more bad news this week as the Department of Homeland Security said it will study whether US Immigration and Customs Enforcement should follow the Justice Department’s lead and phase out the use of private prisons to detain immigrants.
A panel will "review our current policy and practices concerning the use of private immigration detention and evaluate whether this practice should be eliminated,” according to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Bloomberg reports. The panel is set to report back by Nov. 30.
Shares in the prison industry plunged accordingly—Corrections Corporation of America fell 9.7% and the GEO Group slipped 6.5% to $20.49. [Bloomberg]