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Date: November 25, 2024 Mon

Time: 9:13 pm

Results for correctional institutions (texas)

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Author: Hudson, Nicholas

Title: Ground Zero: The Laredo Superjail and the No Action Alternative

Summary: South Texas has become ground zero in the immigrant incarceration boom. There, thousands of nonviolent border crossers are being placed behind bars where they absord tax dollars and create a perceived need for additional prison space. The state of Texas is home to at least 9,500 proposed or recently built prison beds - all of which are intended to house federal detainees from the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the United States Marshals Service (USMS). The largest of these expansions is the proposed Laredo facility. In 2004, the USMS issued a "request for proposal" (RFP) for a privately owned and operated detention center. This facility, which has been dubbed the "Laredo superjail" by local media, would eventually hold 2, 800 detainees, most of whom would be immigrants. The EIS briefly explains, but does not recommend, a "no action alternative." The no action alternative, as defined in the draft EIS, is "not to proceed with the proposed action to award a contract to house federal detainees in a Contractor-Owned/Contractor-Operated detention facility." This report concludes that USMS prison expansion in or near the Laredo area is unnecessary, and that the best course of action is the no action alternative. The data analyzed in this report indicates immigration-related detention is disproportionately represented compared to every other type of offense in the Texas South USMS district. The USMS maintains that there were no reasonable alternatives to expansion. This report rejects that argument. The proposed Laredo facility would not be necessary with slight changes in federal prosecution and enforcement patterns in the Southern District of Texas. This report also addresses specific arguments in the draft EIS, including those regarding the potential economic impacts of the proposed prison. A comprehensive analysis of the draft EIS's economic assessment reveals many problematic conclusions riddled with economic fallacy, and an overwhelming reliance on unsupported evidence geared toward making the case for the Laredo superjail. This report reaches a conclusion contrary to that of the draft EIS. Relying on the most current and authoritative sources available, this report determines that the Laredo superjail will most likely have no positive economic impacts on any of the proposed sites, and that rural economics may even experience detrimental impacts. The most recent and conclusive data shows that the construction of large prison facilities can actually hinder long-term economic growth in some communities.

Details: Charlotte, NC: Grassroots Leadership, 2006. 24p.

Source: Grassroots Leadership Special Report: Internet Resource: Accessed September 30, 2012 at http://www.grassrootsleadership.org/_publications/groundzero.pdf

Year: 2006

Country: United States

URL: http://www.grassrootsleadership.org/_publications/groundzero.pdf

Shelf Number: 126503

Keywords:
Correctional Institutions (Texas)
Costs of Criminal Justice, Prisons (Texas)
Immigrant Detention (Texas)
Prison Population, Immigrants (Texas)