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The Australian government\u2019s main immigration detention contractor is playing a key role in Donald Trump\u2019s hardline immigration crackdown and has attracted a string of complaints over its treatment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees.<\/p>\n
In recent years, the Albanese government has awarded lucrative immigration detention contracts to the local subsidiary of Management and Training Corporation, a major US private prison company, to operate offshore processing facilities on Nauru<\/a> and Australia\u2019s onshore detention network<\/a>.<\/p>\n The contracts were awarded despite serious concerns about MTC\u2019s track record in the US, including allegations of \u201cgross negligence\u201d and \u201cegregious\u201d security failures, and allegations by the state of Mississippi<\/a> that it had engaged in \u201ca conspiracy scheme\u201d of kickbacks, fraud and money laundering, paying bribes to state officials in exchange for contracts.<\/p>\n Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/sub><\/a><\/p>\n The company has since become closely involved in the Trump administration\u2019s crackdown on immigrants.<\/p>\n MTC is one of a handful of private prison operators running ICE detention facilities, holding thousands of detainees caught up in the agency\u2019s mass arrest campaign. MTC holds detainees at the Bluebonnet and IAH Polk detention facilities in Texas, the Otero County Processing Center in New Mexico, and the Imperial Regional Detention Facility in California, near the Mexican border.<\/p>\n The American Civil Liberties Union said that MTC has been the subject of a string of complaints about its treatment of ICE detainees, including allegations of assault at Bluebonnet<\/a>, complaints of severe overcrowding<\/a> at IAH Polk and Otero, the use of solitary confinement as a punitive measure at Otero and the death of a detainee at Imperial<\/a> in September.<\/p>\n Eunice Cho, senior counsel with the ACLU\u2019s National Prison Project, said \u201cthe track record of private prison corporations like MTC, who uniquely profit from human suffering, including the recent crackdown on immigrant communities in the United States, speaks for itself,\u201d she said. \u201cIt should raise serious questions for any government entity considering a contract.\u201d<\/p>\n Local advocates and politicians have called for a review of MTC\u2019s immigration detention contracts with the Australian government. MTC is also contracted by state governments to run several correctional facilities.<\/p>\n The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre\u2019s deputy chief executive, Jana Favero, said the Australian governments partnership with MTC was \u201cdeeply concerning\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cYet, despite this troubling track record, it is alarming the Albanese government continues to knowingly award and extend the company\u2019s control of Australia\u2019s offshore detention system to MTC,\u201d Favero said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we watch in horror at what\u2019s happening on the streets in the US, including the violent crackdown on migrants, we should do everything to distance ourselves from such actions here, starting with ending the contract with MTC.\u201d<\/p>\n David Shoebridge, a Greens senator, said the reports from the US should trigger an \u201cimmediate review\u201d of the company\u2019s Australian contracts.<\/p>\n \u201cNo company that profits globally from immigration crackdowns and mass detention should be entrusted with the care of vulnerable people in Australian government custody,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Guardian Australia revealed last year<\/a> that MTC was being paid $790m to hold 100 people on Nauru, after a quiet expansion of its Australian government contract.<\/p>\n It separately won a large contract<\/a> to operate Australia\u2019s onshore detention centres, worth $2.3bn, in late 2024, via subsidiary Secure Journeys Pty Ltd.<\/p>\n MTC said in a statement that immigration in the US was a \u201chighly politicised\u201d environment and that \u201cmany public narratives conflate federal immigration policy decisions with the operational responsibilities of contracted service providers\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cFor decades, MTC has operated correctional, detention, and education facilities across multiple jurisdictions, often in complex and highly scrutinized environments,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n It said the allegations of assault at Bluebonnet were investigated and cleared by ICE, and said it strictly prohibited the use of solitary confinement as retaliation, as alleged at its Otero facility.<\/p>\n Madeline Gleeson, a senior research fellow at the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, said there had been \u201ca rolling series\u201d of private operators for Australia\u2019s immigration detention network and longstanding complaints about operations, but that did not lessen the government\u2019s duty of care.<\/p>\n \u201cThat duty doesn\u2019t stop if it\u2019s run by a private company,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The Department of Home Affairs said it had previously reviewed integrity and governance issues related to its offshore processing contracts.<\/p>\n The 2023 review, conducted by former defence secretary Dennis Richardson, found the government \u201ccould have confidence in the commonwealth\u2019s existing contract with MTC Australia in its administration of regional processing arrangements\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cMTC Australia is required to deliver services consistent with Nauru<\/a> legislative requirements and in a manner that preserves individual human rights, dignity and the wellbeing of transferees,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe department takes the management of all contracts seriously. The department administers an evidence-based performance monitoring framework to verify the delivery of services in line with contractual requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n