6/8/2017

CRIME/DRUGS/IMMIGRATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The federal prison population is expected to grow next year by 4,171 to a total of 191,493 as the Trump administration steps up prosecutions of illegal immigrants and drug offenders, reversing the trend toward a smaller prison population under former President Barack Obama.
That estimate of 2% growth in fiscal 2018 was tucked into in a Justice Department budget proposal posted online after the Trump administration’s broader spending plan was released two weeks ago. The proposed budget also calls for 300 new federal prosecutors and 75 new immigration judges.
The budget doesn’t detail the costs of the prison growth, but it is expected to be a boon to private prison companies, which are stepping up lobbying efforts to win contracts to house thousands of new inmates and immigrant detainees.
Earlier this year, Attorney General Jeff Sessions overturned a decision by the Obama administration to phase out contracts with for-profit prison operators after the Justice Department’s inspector general concluded private prisons were more dangerous than government-run facilities. Private prison companies disputed those findings, and federal officials say they have improved oversight of contract facilities.”

-Beth Reinhard, “Federal Prison Population Expected to Grow Under Trump,” The Wall Street Journal online, June 8, 2017 04:28pm