Protesters gather in front of the GEO Group headquarters to speak out against the company that manages private prisons across the United States on May 4, 2015, in Boca Raton, Florida.
Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty

Many people believe that the United States government is constantly battling corporations, with the government enforcing regulations and corporations skirting them. While this is true in isolated cases, the reality is much more complex. The prison-industrial complex, for example, encompasses a state-run apparatus that is symbiotically intertwined with various private entities.

A growing public relations crisis threatens all entities in this complex. Widespread grassroots movements calling for no new jails and prisons have gained power. Incarcerated people have organized the largest prison strikes to date within the past several years. All major Democratic presidential candidates call for the abolition of private prisons. Even large banks — including Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase — have committed to ending their relationships with private prisons following pressure from employees and activists.

Yet private prison corporations, some state legislatures and Immigration Customs […]