Gen. Jeff Sessions has jettisoned an Obama administration order to phase out the use of private prisons to hold federal inmates. The Bureau of Prisons houses about 21,000 of its 190,000 inmates in a dozen private prisons, including one near Bakersfield. "Continuing to rely on private prisons for federal inmates is neither humane nor budget conscious," Henderson added. The use of private prisons is expected to surge under President Trump's promised crackdown on illegal immigration. Stocks in private prison companies have jumped on Wall Street since Trump won the presidential election, and they continued their rise on news of Sessions' order.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 24, 2017 00:09 UTC