AZMEX UPDATE 14 MAY 2019
Officials consider reopening private prison to hold migrants
by Associated PressTuesday, May 14th 2019
https://cbs4local.com/news/local/officials-consider-reopening-private-prison-to-hold-migrants
ESTANCIA, N.M. (AP) — Officials are considering reopening a private prison in New Mexico
to hold immigrants being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Torrance County commissioners are set to vote Wednesday on whether to sign an agreement with ICE
to open the rural county detention facility owned by a Nashville, Tennessee-based private prison operator CoreCivic,
the Albuquerque Journal reported .
The prison southeast of Albuquerque closed in October 2017 because of a consistently low number of inmates,
county manager Wayne Johnson said.
The prison was a large employer for Estancia, so its closure was a blow to the area's economy and the county's tax base, he said.
"Having that 900-bed facility stand empty didn't make sense for anyone involved," Johnson said.
County officials expect the reopened prison to provide more than 200 jobs and house over 700 immigrant detainees
as well as some local inmates.
Under the proposed contract, the federal agency would pay the county nearly $2 million per month during the first year of prison use.
The price would increase in future years.
ICE would pay a fixed rate for up to 714 immigrant detainees, according to the proposed contract.
It would pay extra for each additional person housed in the facility.
The county would then sign a separate agreement with CoreCivic for it to run the facility and hire staff.
The facility would only house men, and the immigrant detainees
would be housed separately from other inmates, Johnson said.
Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com
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