West Orange, New Jersey — Larry Poster, candidate for the U.S. Congress in the Democratic Primary in N.J.’s 10th Congressional District, said, “It is morally reprehensible that the federal government assigns to the private sector its federal responsibility and authority for operating detention centers and prisons.”
Candidate Poster said, “Many for-profit prisons and detention centers are operational and human rights atrocities. Delaney Hall in Newark is a prime example. But the very idea that government should pawn off its detainees and incarceration responsibility to others is the greater abomination.”
The travesty of for-profit prisons began during the Reagan Administration and has ballooned into a multi-billion industry. Today, private prisons and detention centers in the U.S. are estimated to generate more than $5.5 billion in annual revenues for their operators.
ICE’s budget allocation for detention center buildout and operations in the second Trump era has quadrupled to about $85 billion or about $29 billion annualized ($75 billion in supplemental funding through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) – a figure which is substantially larger than the budget for entire U.S. Bureau of Prisons. Today, 90% of ICE detainees are held in for-profit facilities. (Sources: Prison Policy Initiative, Brennan Center for Justice, OpenSecrets and migrationpolicy.org.)
Supports Outlawing All For-Profit Prisons in N.J. and U.S.A.
In a nod to U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (Vermont) and the late Congressman Raul M. Grijalva, Democratic Candidate Larry Poster supports enacting legislation to outlaw all private for-profit federal, state and local prisons and detention centers of every kind, and a transition period of two years to do so.
About Larry Poster for Congress
Lawrence D. Poster is a business leader, volunteer and mentor and lifelong Democrat. He is Founder of Catalyx Group, a Strategy & Executive Search Firm focused on high technology, biotechnology and medtech.
“My purpose in running for Congress is to fight for the soul of America. To fight for America and to fight for you. You are my political boss. Growth is imperative. But I’m here to grow America – fairly. I’m here to champion the working class and middle class.”
For more details about Larry Poster’s Campaign for Congress visit his website: https://www.posterforcongress.com/.
Early voting in the primary for NJ’s 10th C.D. runs through Sunday, May 31. In-person, Primary Day voting is Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at polling locations across the 10th Congressional District in communities in Essex, Hudson, and Union Counties.