How much does that cost?

The old system of giving migrants alternatives to detention (such as ankle bracelets, the equivalent of parole officers, or just a pledge to show up) cost just $4 a day, while housing them temporarily in local jails cost about $100. ICE pays private companies at the border $159 per inmate per day, including for detained children. Because subcontractors don’t have to follow the same transparency rules as government agencies, it’s unclear exactly what services the inmates are getting for that price. Now that Trump has reversed his family-separation policy, the administration is seeking to house families at private facilities at the border indefinitely. In light of that policy, CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger recently raved at an investors’ conference about the company’s financial prospects. This is “the most robust kind of sales environment we’ve seen in probably 10 years,” he said.