Private Prison Company Welcomes Fed's New Immigrant Detention Strategy

On the heels of Immigration and Custom Enforcement's announcement that it will stop holding children in Corrections Corporation of America's T. Don Hutto detention center, the nation's largest private prison provider assured investors that they still expect plenty of business from the federal government.

"In some respects there may not have been much of a change," said Damon Hininger, CCA's President and Chief Operating Officer during a conference call on Thursday with investors.

Hininger said CCA had "just learned yesterday that ICE wants us to renegotiate" the Hutto contract and that a timetable for the negotiations had not been set for transitioning Hutto to hold female immigrants. But he pointed to the Obama administration's expansion of the Bush administration's Secure Communities program as proof that demand for immigrant detention beds would continue.

Other highlights from CCA's 2nd quarterly earnings report:

• Revenues increased 5.7%, and average per diem rates are up 2.3%
• Inmate populations were larger than expected at U.S. Marshall's facilities - likely from the ongoing Operation Streamline along parts of the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona and Texas
• During the next quarter CCA expects the commencement of a new 20-year contract with ICE to detain immigrants in a 502-bed former county jail that it just finished renovating in Hall County, Georgia

Watch for a more detailed update next week from BusinessofDetention.com.