ICE DETENTION CENTERS LOSE ACCREDITATION
In unexpected reversal, American Correctional Association rescinds accreditation for ICE
Contact: Nathan Cobb, ncobb@americancorrectionalassociation.org
Photos and videos: www.americancorrectionalassociation.org
CAMBRIDGE, MA: The American Correctional Association, responding to a week of protests and disruptions, announced at a press conference this morning that it will no longer accredit detention centers operated by ICE. The ACA further pledged to examine the extent to which its dual nature as an industry group and an accrediting organization creates a fundamental conflict of interest.
“It is with profound seriousness and humility that I announce that the American Correctional Association is revoking its accreditation of ICE’s detention facilities, effective immediately,” said Nathan Cobb, the ACA’s Director of Communications. He added that the ACA was founded by a prison reformer, and that “it’s time for the ACA to return to its roots.”
“Our nine million dollar operational budget is dependent on accrediting fees we collect from our own members. Our bottom line depends on the very entities we’re evaluating”, Cobb said. “Being under such enormous pressure, both financial and political, has encouraged us to cut corners.”
The American Correctional Association is the largest accrediting body for the nation’s for-profit prison industry. It has weathered several years of difficulty, including the resignation of former president Christopher B. Epps amidst dozens of federal corruption charges, and multiple revelations of prisoner abuse, neglect, and mistreatment in facilities with ACA accreditation.
“I don’t think anyone saw this coming,” said the Rev Marcus Hobson, a prison chaplain and ACA member. “This is an extremely positive step for the association, and demonstrates that our leadership’s moral compass is still strong. In my twenty-two years of prison ministry, I’ve never been prouder to be a member.”
By reclaiming its core mission of advocating for the safe and humane treatment of prisoners, the ACA is distancing itself from the politically fraught scrutiny of the refugee camps and detention centers operated by ICE, along with the Trump administration’s family separation policy and legal arguments that “safe and sanitary” requirements do not include providing soap, toothbrushes, or beds.
Cobb stated that it was the mission of the ACA’s founder, Rev Enoch Cobb Wines, to “reform the injustices of the prison system, not to perpetuate them.” He concluded, “I think he’d be proud of us today.”
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CONTACT: Nathan Cobb
Communications Director
ncobb@americancorrectionalassociation.org
+1 703 705 2359
The American Correctional Association (ACA) is a professional membership organization composed of individuals, agencies and organizations involved in all facets of the corrections field, including adult and juvenile services, community corrections, probation and parole, jails and correctional public health. It has thousands of members in the United States, Canada and other nations, as well as over 100 chapters and affiliates representing states, professional specialties, or university criminal justice programs.Open publish panel