Soon after President Trump’s election, private prison stocks doubled in value. This spike reflected the hope that Trump’s presidency would usher in a new era of correctional growth, and, indeed, his policies have ushered in a new era of law and order.
In 2017, Trump issued executive orders that provided for stricter enforcement of immigration laws, the growth of a deportation force, the building of new detention facilities, increased support for law enforcement and new task forces on combating crime.
The question remains: will these tough-on-crime policies mark the continued growth of mass incarceration or its last hurrah?
– Dr. Anne E. Parsons, Assistant Professor, Department of History, Museum Studies Program, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro