Host: José Cárdenas
Guests:
Press Statement
For Immediate Release:
Friday, October 29, 2010
Contact: Nicole Torres, nicole@promiseaz.org, (602) 456-1153
Phoenix, AZ – Today, National Public Radio reported on the influence that large private prison corporations had in SB1070 becoming state law in Arizona. The following is a statement by Petra Falcon, executive director of Promise Arizona:
“We need to hit the reset button on the politics in our state. It’s disturbing to think that politicians might have been working on behalf of big private prison corporations, when our elected officials should always be representing the families and communities of Arizona.”
“The only way the little guy can have a fighting chance against the big money interests, the only way we as Arizonans can renew our faith in the political process, is by taking that first and most important step – and getting out to vote. The good news is, Arizonans can take advantage of early-voting options and make themselves heard today and tomorrow, before Election Day next Tuesday.”
“When the economy is so bad, when so many families across Arizona have lost their jobs or their homes, or are struggling just to make ends meet, we have to resist the urge to become cynical when we hear news like this about politicians who don’t put our families and communities first. We can all be encouraged by the faith many Arizonans still have in our American democracy. The families we have been talking to, the thirteen thousand first-time voters we registered, are excited to cast their ballots and make their voices heard.”
Promise Arizona is encouraging and assisting voters with identifying polling locations and providing rides to the polls on Tuesday. Voters can visit the Voter Center to confirm registration, find their polling site, and request a ride to the polls.
####
Posted: 10/28/2010
By: Deborah Stocks
PHOENIX – An Arizona law targeting illegal immigration had its roots in a business venture proposed by prison companies, according to a report by National Public Radio .
NPR reported Thursday morning that after analyzing hundreds of pages of campaign finance reports, lobbying documents and corporate records, they found a “quiet, behind-the-scenes effort to help draft and pass Arizona Senate Bill 1070 by an industry that stands to benefit from it: the private prison industry.”
“The law could send hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants to prison, meaning hundreds of millions of dollars in profits to private prison companies responsible for housing them,” according to NPR.
The law was proposed by Arizona state Senator Russell Pierce and passed in April. It became law in July, with protests and support.
NPR says Pierce made a presentation in Washington, D.C. last December with a “membership organization of state legislators and powerful corporations and associations, such as the tobacco company Reynolds American Inc., ExxonMobil and the National Rifle Association. Another member is the billion-dollar Corrections Corporation of America — the largest private prison company in the country.”
“In the conference room, the group decided they would turn the immigration idea into a model bill. They discussed and debated language. Then, they voted on it,” according to NPR.
Puente Arizona responded to the report in an e-mail.
“We call on Russell Pearce to fully disclose his ties with those who may benefit financially from his initiatives and we ask that a deeper investigation be launched into the private interests gaining from the human rights crisis in Arizona,” said Carlos Garcia. “The collusive relationship between politicians and corporations is once again brought to light.”
Parts of SB1070 have been struck down by a federal judge, and other parts remain under review.
Read and listen to the full NPR report
http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/state/did-prison-economics-create-sb-1070#viewSingle105856601