Disir
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Leaders of a cash-strapped California farm town, home to many migrants in the country illegally, have voted to convert two privately run state prisons into immigration detention centers, just two months after public opposition appeared to have derailed the proposal.
After a three-hour virtual meeting over Zoom on Thursday night, the City Council of McFarland voted 4-0 in favor of a plan by the GEO Group, which has been operating the prisons, to repurpose them to detain up to 1,400 migrants. One council member recused himself due to a conflict of interest.
Up to half of the 15,000 residents of McFarland are in the country illegally, according to some estimates, meaning they could face confinement in the same cells that have been holding convicted criminals.
The decision follows several court rulings that have ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has contracted with GEO to run the McFarland facilities, to reduce the number of migrants it holds in detention because of the risks they could face from the coronavirus pandemic.
www.nwaonline.com
And now it's a 3 ring circus.
After a three-hour virtual meeting over Zoom on Thursday night, the City Council of McFarland voted 4-0 in favor of a plan by the GEO Group, which has been operating the prisons, to repurpose them to detain up to 1,400 migrants. One council member recused himself due to a conflict of interest.
Up to half of the 15,000 residents of McFarland are in the country illegally, according to some estimates, meaning they could face confinement in the same cells that have been holding convicted criminals.
The decision follows several court rulings that have ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has contracted with GEO to run the McFarland facilities, to reduce the number of migrants it holds in detention because of the risks they could face from the coronavirus pandemic.
California farm town backs ICE detention units
Leaders of a cash-strapped California farm town, home to many migrants in the country illegally, have voted to convert two privately run state prisons into immigration detention centers, just two months after public opposition appeared to have derailed the proposal.
www.nwaonline.com
And now it's a 3 ring circus.
