Migrant Labor Made America Great — History Behind the US-Mexico Border Crisis

This appeared in The Millennial Source

The suffering of children at US Border Patrol detention facilities has understandably drawn intense media attention worldwide. Yet the plight of detained adults is equally troubling, and reveals much about the root causes of the humanitarian crisis at the US-Mexico border.

Recently, US Vice President Mike Pence visited detention facilities in the border town of McAllen, Texas. He encountered men crowded into cages, who motioned that they do not receive adequate food and demonstrated the cramped conditions under which they are expected to sleep:

During the two and a half years of the Trump presidency, problems at the US southern border have escalated to a point where almost everyone agrees that an emergency exists. However, the underlying issues are not new. Debates over how to best reform immigration policies have raged on in the US for decades.

One way to investigate why those debates have produced so little meaningful action is to abide by an old guideline of American journalism: When in doubt, follow the money.

For-profit private prison companies cashing in on the crisis

The detention of so many individuals and families who have crossed the US-Mexico border is costing US citizens millions of dollars per day. Not all of that money stays in government hands, however.

While overcrowded Border Patrol and ICE detention facilities tend to capture most of the headlines in media coverage, many detained immigrants are actually being held in private prisons. These facilities have long been controversial in the US, since they effectively attach a profit motive to criminal convictions and the detention of migrants. During his final year in office, President Barack Obama took steps to end private prison use in the country.

However, shortly after President Trump was inaugurated, his administration reversed the Obama policy. The American Conservative reports that US immigration enforcement agencies now have $700 million worth of…