Operation Streamline: Costs and Consequences

This report details the costs and consequences of "zero-tolerance" immigration programs on the U.S.-Mexico border, generally referred to under the moniker "Operation Streamline", which require all undocumented border-crossers to be criminally prosecuted for unlawful entry or re-entry. It explores the government's increased dependence on private prison companies like Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and GEO Group. It explains how the terms of contracts for privately owned and privately operated prisons maximize private companies' profits while placing the higher cost of immigrant incarceration on taxpayers, increasing the volume of incarcerations, overburdening local court systems, and taking a human toll on immigrant populations.