Military Contractors to Benefit from Border Surge
Joshua Holland on Salon.com reports on how military contractors are poised to profit from the “border surge” if Congress passes immigration reform. Senator John McCain has announced that the Senate immigration bill would result in the “most militarized border since the fall of the Berlin Wall.” Indeed, the border surge amendment authored by Senators Bob Corker (R-Tenn) and John Hoeven (R-ND), authorizes a massive increase in border security dollars — including $30 billion for hiring and training 19,000 new border patrol officers over the next 10 years, and over $13 billion for a “comprehensive Southern border strategy” (including 700 miles of high-tech fencing). With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ending, the border militarization is a new market for military contrator profits. Military contractors have profited from the dramatic increase in immigrant detention since 1996.
KJ