The world's largest immigration detention system is on the cusp of explosive growth as President Donald Trump pursues his signature campaign promise of mass deportations. The deportations represent a potential bonanza for private prison companies and a challenge to the government agencies responsible for the orderly expulsion of immigrants. Some critics say the administration's plans also include a deliberate attempt to isolate detainees by locking them up and holding court proceedings far from their attorneys and support systems. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is starting to scale up from its current budget for about 41,000 beds to 100,000 beds.

An Associated Press investigation into prison labor in the United States found that prisoners who are hurt or killed on the job are often being denied the rights and protections offered to other American workers. These prisoners are being placed in dangerous jobs, sometimes with little or no training. They pick up trash along busy highways, fight wildfires, and operate heavy machinery. They work on industrial-sized farms and meat-processing plants tied to the supply chains of large, iconic companies, from McDonald's to Target. But incarcerated workers and their families often have little or no recourse when things go wrong.