Federal prison proposed for Nacogdoches

Federal prison proposed for Nacogdoches

By MATTHEW STOFF
The Daily Sentinel

Thursday, June 26, 2008

By acquiring the rights to property on Northwest Stallings Drive Thursday, a private development company seeking a contract to build a federal prison in Nacogdoches took the first steps toward construction of a $60 million to $80 million minimum security detention facility that would house illegal immigrants for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

If the federal agency awards the contract to the development company, the Utah-based Management and Training Corporation, later this year, a 1,500-bed prison could be complete by 2009.

Local government and economic development officials hail the proposed prison for the 300 jobs it would create and the $11 million in annual salaries it would pump into the local economy. But critics of the project say a larger consideration of for-profit prisons in Texas is needed to evaluate how realistic those figures are.

The Nacogdoches city commission and the county commissioners court are expected to pass resolutions endorsing the project at their meetings next week.

"I'm excited about it," County Judge Joe English said. "They're certain types of industries that I think everybody felt like they didn't want here — the smoke stack industry — and so this doesn't fall within that category. I think it will have a big impact on the community as far as bringing in extra revenue and extra jobs for the people in Nacogdoches County. Almost $1 million a month — that will have a huge impact on our community."

Local governments are optimistic that the prison, which would likely be owned by MTC, not the government, would generate a large amount of tax income.

MTC is one of several private corporations that operate prisons for profit, on behalf of government entities. Over 10 percent of Texas' prisoners are housed in private facilities, like ones in Henderson and Longview, according statistics from the Bureau of Justice.

Michael Bell, the warden of Henderson's MTC prison facility and a spokesman for the Nacogdoches project, said the company would bear all the costs of the project and pass the benefit onto the community.

"Basically the facility would be owned by our investors and not by the federal government. MTC would handle the finance on this, so it would not be any cost to the local community taxpayers, city or county government there," Bell said. "The starting wage would be $30,000 to $32,000 per year. You're looking at an annual payroll of approximately $11 million a year, which has a large economic impact."

But some worry that the high-paying positions could steal workers away from the county jail, where correctional officers are paid less money. English said a recent pay increase at the jail put the county jobs in a better position to compete with newer opportunities, but may not be enough.

"We were very concerned initially in the beginning phases, when they were talking about the salaries and what impact it would have on Nacogdoches County being able to continue to staff jailers and compete with that," English said, "but I think that with the last raise, we're going to be real close. If we have to make some adjustments, they'll be very small."

Sheriff Thomas Kerss said it was difficult to tell what impact the prison will have if the contract is awarded. "In general, I'm certainly not opposed to the idea. I think it would be beneficial to our area," he said. "It's not just an absolute thing that every employee that we have would jump ship and apply for the prison unit, although certainly a number of jobs would be brought in for other people."

Kerss said the county commissioners court would have to remain open to further pay increases to remain competitive with the federal facility.

If built, the prison would house so-called "criminal aliens" who have been sentenced to fewer than 90 months and who have been classified as minimum security. After their release, they will be deported, Bell said.

Judy McDonald, president and CEO of the Nacogdoches Economic Development Corporation, which was instrumental in soliciting the interest of MTC, said the Nacogdoches citizenry "would be very proud to have" the prison. McDonald said officials in Henderson and Longview "had nothing but praise" for MTC and the economic results there. She also said the prison would look attractive and be state of the art.

"Once they see this facility, no one's going to want to break out. They're going to want to break in."

However, MTC, which operates five other prisons in Texas, has been criticized for its operation of several facilities, especially an immigrant detention facility in Raymondville, known as "Tent City" because of its prefabricated, windowless appearance.

"MTC is certainly a company that has run into numerous problems and controversies over the years," said Bob Libal, who is the Texas coordinator for the private prison watchdog group, Grassroots Leadership, and who co-authors Texas Prison Bid'ness, a blog that tracks issues related to Texas prisons. "The Tent City example is certainly an egregious one. There have been maggots in the food at Tent City ... Really terrible conditions you hear about in some of these private prisons."

Libal's blog also recorded federal charges filed against four MTC employees in Brownsville for apparently smuggling illegal immigrants using a company van.

Bell responded to the criticism, saying the company is committed to meeting federal standards for prisons. "No one can make any guarantees that something won't draw criticism, but overall, our practice is to run a good, secure correctional facility to ensure that we meet compliance of the contract." Some oversight by federal employees would provide an additional assurance of quality, Bell said.

Scott Henson, a public policy researcher who authors the Grits for Breakfast blog about Texas criminal justice, said the private prison industry as a whole faces an uncertain future in the U.S. The demand for prison beds to house immigrant detainees may decline with changes to federal policy dictated by the next president, he said.

"The rise in the need and demand for immigration beds is a result of very specific policies," Henson said. "Expansion in cases for Texas U.S. Attorneys in the last 3 years is incredibly dramatic. That was a choice. They could choose not to do it when the next president gets in.

"Who's the next president going to be, McCain or Obama? Both of them favor comprehensive immigration reform. Do you think their attorneys general are going to continue the high rates of prosecution? Probably not. Do you think that once we have comprehensive immigration reform, immigration detention facilities will be a viable investment? Probably not."

Henson also said the prison could hurt Nacogdoches' tourism and its efforts to recruit retirees.

"When Nacogdoches gets in the newspaper, I know that the chamber of commerce would prefer that it not be because prisoners had maggots in their food," he said. "One nasty story in the Dallas news about mistreatment there, and all those Dallas retirees all of a sudden say, 'Well, maybe I'll go to Tyler.'"

Dr. Gregory Hooks, a sociologist at Washington State University, said his research casts further doubt on claims that prison construction can bolster economic development. His paper, published in Social Science Quarterly in 2004, examined every prison in the U.S. and its impact on surrounding counties.

"We find no evidence that prison expansion has stimulated economic growth. In fact, we provide evidence that prison construction has impeded economic growth in rural counties that have been growing at a slow place," the paper concluded.

Mayor Roger Van Horn, who expressed enthusiasm for project, said he was "comfortable" with the groundwork and research that NEDCO and government officials have prepared as the project developed. But he also acknowledged that, while he hoped for the huge economic benefits promised by some, the reality of the project could turn out to be more nuanced.

"There's got to be downsides — there are to everything. They'll be people moving jobs, changing jobs for the higher federal pay. I guess whichever end of that you are, you'd see it as a boon or a bane," he said. The mayor said he would do further research before the city commission's vote on Tuesday.

"There is some further work to do for sure," he said.