Kadner: How to make a profit off illegal aliens

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Updated: February 13, 2012 9:19AM

If you want to start a heated argument, just mention illegal immigrants.

The opinions will come fast and furious in any group, but for the most part they’re theoretical discussions.

In Crete, village residents are being forced to confront the issue in a very real way. There’s a proposal to build a detention center for illegal immigrants in the village.

In addition, the village government would be authorized by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hire a private company to build and operate the center on a for-profit basis.

Some residents of Crete are simply opposed to the idea of deporting illegal immigrants. More question why there have been no public hearings about the project. And some are opposed because of fears about their personal security and declining property values.

Mayor Michael Einhorn, who asked the federal government to consider his village for the project, contends that such concerns are unfounded.

Einhorn has selected Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) as the private firm that would potentially build and operate the detention center, although he said no contracts have been signed.

Einhorn, officials for ICE and a spokesman for CCA all told me, emphatically, that plans for the detention center are still in the discussion stage.

No one knows how big it would be or the specific location, they said, although 70 acres about a mile south of Burville Road in Crete, land zoned for industrial use, has been talked about.

CCA spokesman Steven Owen told me his company would finance construction of the detention center and, as long as seven years ago, discussed the possibility of building a prison in Crete.

Because it would be privately owned, the detention center property could be taxed. Einhorn estimated that the building would eventually cost about $60 million to construct, and Owen said that estimate was within reason.

Crete would actually be paid by ICE to operate the prison, and the village would hire Corrections Corporation of America to run it — meaning Crete and CCA would be partners, each making a profit off of the detention of illegal immigrants.

That bothers some people, especially those who object to the deportation of illegals.

And there are concerns about how a for-profit company might treat its customers, the detainees, because it is primarily in the business to make money.

Owen said CCA has been operating prisons and detention centers for 30 years. It has contracts with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Marshals Service and ICE to run 67 facilities nationwide, he said.

“If we want to keep those contracts, we have to abide by all the rules and regulations set down by those government agencies and establish a credible record of service,” Owen said. “ICE would have officials on-site every day to monitor our activities.

“We are a quality operation. We wouldn’t be in business very long if we weren’t.”

The federal government is moving toward private detention facilities because illegal immigrants often have been held in real prisons or county jails, along with criminals.

Illegal immigrants are not considered criminals. They are charged with a civil violation of federal immigration law.

In the new detention centers, those accused of being illegal immigrants would be treated more humanely, have greater access to recreational areas, have more contact with relatives and could wear civilian clothes, as I understand it.

But this is still about money.

Einhorn noted that the village would be able to count the 750 detainees in the center as residents. That would make Crete eligible for $120 in state tax reimbursements per person, or $90,000 a year.

In addition, the detention center would provide a new source of employment for the village and potential construction jobs.

Einhorn said he will hold public hearings as soon as ICE gives the go-ahead to build the center.

I asked ICE officials for a statement and they replied:

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has identified a need for a 500-700 bed detention facility within the greater Chicago area. ...

“Crete, Ill., was chosen by ICE as a tentative location, based on the responses generated by a Statement of Objectives, a formal request for concept proposals, issued in late 2010.

“However, ICE has not yet signed any agreements or committed to any long-term obligations; these terms are still under negotiation.”

As a result, specific information about the size, cost and location of the center is not available.