Reports of Links Between Private Prison Corporations Poised to Gain with Lobbyist Inside of Arizona Governor Brewer's Office

An investigation by KPHO-TV finds that Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's deputy chief of staff was a lobbyist for Corrections Corporation of America, and his wife still is. Another Brewer adviser runs a firm that represents the prison company. And Gov. Brewer didn't answer KPHO's questions about the connections or why she hadn't revealed them.

Morgan Loew, the KPHO reporter who broke the story, is quoted as saying it a simple equation:

"When someone's picked up on the side of the road or for a crime, they're taken to the jail. At that point, their immigration status is determined. If they're an illegal immigrant, they're reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Then they're taken to one of these private prisons, Corrections Corporation of America.

"So, you'd have to do the math. But if you increased the number of people who are picked up, illegal immigrants, increase the number that are sent over to ICE, you're likely going to increase the number that companies like Corrections Corporation of America are going to be housing."