BIG SPRING, TX — On Dec. 1, 2021, two private prisons in Big Spring which detain federal inmates will be closed.
There are three federal prisons in Big Spring, however, the facilities scheduled to close are Big Spring CI and Big Spring (Flightline) CI, which are operated by The GEO Group, Inc. under contract with the U.S. Department of Justice. The DOJ contract with GEO ends on Nov. 30, 2021 and will not be renewed. This is a result of an executive order issued by President Joe Biden in January 2021 for the Department of Justice to not renew their contracts held with private prisons.
KBest News was advised that the 350 inmates housed in the Big Spring and Flightline facilities operated by GEO will be transferred and rehoused to other federal facilities around the country.
But what happens to the staff?
According to Geo Group, Inc., there are approximately 350 current full-time employees between both of the prisons. They stated that it is their goal to transfer as many impacted employees as possible to other available positions within GEO that they are qualified to perform. To that end, the GEO Human Resource department has met with impacted employees regarding closure and encouraged employees to look for other opportunities within the company.
If employees find other GEO employment opportunities that they are interested in they are advised to reach out to a designated HR representative to discuss transfer.
Additionally, GEO told KBest News that it has contacted the Texas Workforce Commission’s Rapid Response Coordinator to advise them of the impending closure and will work with this organization to assist in any efforts to transition impacted employees into other employment as soon as possible.
KBest News was told that the Big Spring and Flightline prison facilities will be marketed to others for use, however, there is not a definite answer as to what will happen to them.
It should be noted that the executive order prevents the renewal of private prison contracts with the DOJ, but not with Homeland Security. Facilities managed on behalf of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are not impacted and ICE Detention centers can still be managed by private companies.
According to an article from the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan law and policy institute, some private firms have begun to engage in intergovernmental service agreements with counties that then contract directly with the federal government for immigration or marshal’ detention services.
On December 6, 2021, a Howard County Leadership Summit will be held at 6:30 PM at the Dorothy Garrett Coliseum on the Sonic Floor to discuss the issue concerning the loss of jobs. The meeting will include community leaders from Big Spring, Coahoma, and Forsan, and it is open to the public.
Photo: CBS 7
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