Locking down revenue: Small New Mexico towns profit from incarcerating migrants
ESTANCIA - Two years ago, the county jail in this small town shut its doors because it didn’t have enough inmates to lock up. Hundreds of jobs evaporated, and the town lost a million dollars in tax revenue and other payments.
Then in May, Torrance County landed a contract with the federal government to reopen the jail — mostly to house migrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The contract was a windfall for a town where steady, well-paying jobs are few and far between.
“Now that it’s comin’ back, money’s comin’ again!” exclaimed Bo Bardy, who has worked at Gustin Hardware in Estancia for the past five years.
That money derives from the business of incarcerating migrants, many of whom are coming to the United States from Central America to seek asylum. U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped about 144,000 people near the Mexican border in May, according to federal data, a 13-year record high.
Read more: https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/new-mexico/2019/06/24/new-mexico-towns-profit-migrant-detention/1531764001/
(Las Cruces Sun-News)