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Dialing with Dollars: How County Jails Profit From Immigrant Detainees
Dialing with Dollars: How County Jails Profit From Immigrant Detainees
County jails charge excessive rates for phone usage – a huge barrier for immigrant detainees fighting deportation.
by Leticia Miranda
Arali was at home with her three-year-old son, Jose, when she got a call from Suffolk …
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More from this issue:
- News in Brief
- Ninth Circuit: Abstention Inapplicable in First Amendment Cases, by Mark Wilson
- Tennessee Jail Breached Duty to Provide Medical Care; Damages Trial Ordered, by David Reutter
- Change in Florida Jail Policy Leads to Increased Homelessness, by David Reutter
- Prison Legal News Interviews Musician Wayne Kramer, by Paul Wright
- Eighth Circuit: Atheist Prisoner States Coerced Religious-Based Treatment Claim, by Mark Wilson
- Georgia’s High Court Finds No Categorical Right to Counsel in Civil Contempt Proceedings, by David Reutter
- GEO Group Rescinds $6 Million Donation to Name Stadium at Florida University, by David Reutter
- Private Prison Companies Reject Resolutions to Fund Rehabilitative, Reentry Programs
- Fifth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Prisoner’s Suit Claiming Lack of Medical Care, by Matthew Clarke
- Prison Violence in Brazil Connected to Abuse, Gangs, Overcrowding
- Eighth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Prisoner’s ADA/RA Claims, by Mark Wilson
- Misconduct at Washington State Civil Commitment Center as Concern Grows Over Releases, by David Reutter
- Georgia’s Execution Drug Secrecy Law Found Constitutional, by David Reutter
- Native American Prisoners Have Right to Tobacco in Religious Ceremonies, by David Reutter
- Ninth Circuit: Indefinite Stay and Denial of Guardian was Abuse of Discretion, by Mark Wilson
- For Shame! Public Shaming Sentences on the Rise, by David Reutter
- Book Review: Burning Down the House, by Nell Bernstein (The New Press, June 2014). 384 pages, $26.95, by Hannah K. Gold
- Second Circuit: Brady Claim Not Barred by Heck, by Mark Wilson
- Eighth Circuit: Ruling Required on Prison Officials’ Qualified Immunity Defense
- Eighth Circuit: Jail Guards Denied Summary Judgment for Use of Force against Detainees, by David Reutter
- Seventh Circuit: Dismissal due to Nonpayment of Filing Fee Requires Assessment, by Mark Wilson
- United States, Britain Offer Training to “Improve” Prison Conditions in Afghanistan
- California: Local Ordinances Banning Sex Offenders from Parks Invalidated, by Mark Wilson
- Montana: Extradition Costs Not Recoverable as Restitution, by Mark Wilson
- Life Sentences Spike in Recent Years – Especially in Utah
- Court Finds PLN’s Rights Violated by Arizona Jail; Case Settles for $15,293
- Eighth Circuit: Deliberate Indifference Standard GovernsMedical Care for Civilly Committed Detainees, by Mark Wilson
- Eighth Circuit: No Qualified Immunity for Jail Prisoner Raped in Unlocked Cell; $60,000 Verdict at Trial, by Mark Wilson
- Wisconsin Prison Guard Union Faces Challenges, by Derek Gilna
- Five Deaths in Eleven Months at California Jail Spark Grand Jury Probe
- Washington DOSA Revocation Requires Credit for Community Custody Time, by Mark Wilson
- Texas: $100 Medical Copay for Prisoners Generates Less Revenue than Expected, by Matthew Clarke
- Dialing with Dollars: How County Jails Profit From Immigrant Detainees, by Leticia Miranda
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
More from Leticia Miranda:
More from these topics:
- Prisoners in Norfolk, Virginia Left on Extended Lockdown, May 1, 2026. Staffing, Lockdowns, Telephone Access, Extended Family Visiting, Failure to Protect (Staff).
- Digital Tablet Shift Brings Added Cost, Lost Data to Prisoners in California, April 1, 2026. Computers, Prisoner Property, Telephone Rates, Securus, Global Tel*Link Corp.
- More Than 40k 311 Calls From Rikers Go Into a Black Hole Every Year, April 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Totality of Conditions, Telephone Access, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- FCC Releases Final Version of Order Gutting 2024 Phone Cap Regulations, Feb. 1, 2026. Misconduct/Corruption, Telephone Access, Telephone Rates.
- The Succession Battle for a Prison Empire, Dec. 1, 2025. Telephone Rates, Private Phone Contractors.
- An AI Model from Securus Aims to Expand Phone Call Monitoring, Dec. 1, 2025. Databases, Telephone Rates, Telephone Monitoring, Electronic Surveillance, Securus.
- Colorado Children Sue County Jail to Fight Visitation Ban, Dec. 1, 2025. Telephone Rates, Video Visitation, Children of Prisoners, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Private Phone Contractors.
- FCC Issues Proposed Rule Permitting Cellphone Jammers in Prisons and Jails, Nov. 1, 2025. Statistics/Trends, Telephone Rates, Cell Phone Access, Federal Legislation, Police State-Surveillance.
- FCC Votes For Dramatic Hike to Prison Phone Call Rates, Nov. 1, 2025. Telephone Rates, Telephone Monitoring, Cell Phone Access, Video Visitation, Securus, Global Tel*Link Corp.
- FCC Backtracks on 2024 Order to Cut Prison Phone and Video Rates by Half, Aug. 1, 2025. Telephone Rates, Video Visitation, Private Phone Contractors, Securus.

