Final answer:
ICE correctional facilities detain non-citizens for immigration violations. The U.S. correctional system covers various forms of detention, including prisons and jails. There are debates on the treatment and rehabilitation of inmates, influenced by the significant growth of the incarceration rate and the impact of a profitable law-enforcement industry.
Step-by-step explanation:
Individuals detained in ICE correctional facilities are generally non-citizens undergoing immigration proceedings or awaiting deportation. These facilities, different from prisons and jails designed for those convicted of a crime, are specifically for people charged with violating immigration laws. As the correctional system overall includes a range of facilities and supervisory statuses, those in ICE detention are part of a broad network of correctional control that includes individuals incarcerated, detained, on parole, or on probation.
Historically, the incarceration rate in the U.S. has seen significant growth, influenced by the war on drugs and policies that disproportionately affected communities of color, leading to racial inequities in incarceration rates. Critics of the system, like Angela Davis, suggest that the large prison population stems from over-surveillance of certain demographics and the influence of a multibillion-dollar law-enforcement industry. This has resulted in the U.S. having the largest prisoner count globally, a figure that has started to decline but still represents a substantial part of the population living under correctional supervision.
Additionally, debates continue regarding the treatment and rehabilitation of inmates within the criminal justice system. The controversy lies between those who believe in harsher treatments to deter crime and those who argue for fairer practices and more rehabilitation opportunities to better reintegrate incarcerated individuals into society.