Billions for Prisons, Cuts for the People: What Are Our Priorities?
While American schools beg for updated books, functioning air conditioners, and safe buildings, the federal government is writing half-billion-dollar checks to build new prisons. Quietly, and with little public discussion, the Bureau of Prisons is spending over $1.5 billion on new federal prison projects across the country—at a time when programs that truly serve citizens are being underfunded or eliminated altogether.
In Leavenworth, Kansas, a $532 million federal prison is under construction, replacing a facility that’s been in operation for over 120 years. Another $500 million prison is set for Letcher County, Kentucky, a community still recovering from flooding and economic hardship. Add to that a $250 million project in Berlin, New Hampshire, and a ballooning budget for ICE detention facilities—projected to reach $45 billion over the next four years—and it becomes clear: the U.S. government is investing in incarceration, not liberation.
All of this comes while funding for public education, community health, mental health services, and housing support continues to shrink. In some states, school districts are being forced to eliminate music and arts programs, cut teaching positions, and operate outdated technology due to federal disinvestment. Yet somehow, there’s always room in the budget to build a bigger prison.
These projects are often sold to the public as “job creators.” And while it’s true that facilities like Leavenworth will employ hundreds of staff, the bigger question is—what kind of future are we building? One where we expand opportunity, knowledge, and health? Or one where we build more walls and cages?
Even more troubling, some of these new facilities will be used not just for federal inmates but for immigration detention. In the name of border security, we’re watching communities be turned into incarceration hubs—without addressing the root causes of immigration or providing real pathways to citizenship.
This isn’t just a policy issue. It’s a values issue.
If we can find billions to lock people up, then we can find billions to educate them, heal them, and house them. But it requires citizens to speak up and demand that public money be used for the public good—not just to grow an already bloated incarceration system.
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Marvin Dixon/Founder
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