Enlarge The Rev. Les Schmidt and LaWana Mayfield

Posted: October 6th, 2010 Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman

Mecklenburg Ministries recently hosted a lunchtime meeting on "Immigration and For-Profit Prisons: Who Wins?" at Covenant Presbyterian Church.

LaWana Mayfield and the Rev. Les Schmidt presented their views on the issue on behalf of Grassroots Leadership, which works to help others think critically about socio-economic issues in an effort to end social injustice.

Mayfield is very passionate about immigration issues, particularly the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, or 287g. That law enables local law enforcement officers to hold undocumented immigrants in county jails and report them to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

On the surface, that may not seem like a bad idea, but what Mayfield wants people to understand is that the law fuels funding for for-profit prisons, which are operated by corporations instead of governments.

After a 48-hour stay in county jails, undocumented immigrants are moved to a for-profit prison in Georgia. There is one for-profit prison in North Carolina, Rivers Correction Institution in Winton. It is unclear why the county choses to transport detainees to a Georgia prison instead of keeping them in state. But it is known that moving prisoners from county jails to prisons frees up space in local jails, however it also means taxpayers end up paying nearly three times more -- $109 per day -- to house inmates awaiting deportation.

When an audience member asked why the federal government would pay more to house an inmate in a for-profit prison, the Rev. Schmidt said, "It beats us as well."

This method of dealing with undocumented immigrants is also under fire nationally and is being called unethical and inhumane. Mayfield believes there could be a direct connection between political campaign funding and the success of for-profit prisons, run by companies that sign 30- to 50-year contracts with the government. She encouraged the audience to investigate their representatives' campaign donations and their stance on immigration issues.

When asked why she is so passionate about educating people about the connection between 287g, politics and for-profit prisions, she said, "Because it's the right thing to do," adding later, "We are dealing with a movement designed to target people with brown skin ... that is racism."

Rev. Schmidt concurred, saying, "People are not for sale. Not now, not ever."

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