New Mexico private prison to close, doesn't have enough inmates to make profit

Source: UPI



By Ray Downs | July 30, 2017 at 6:17 PM


July 30 (UPI) -- Private prison operators in New Mexico said they will close one of its prisons because it doesn't have enough inmates to make a profit.

CoreCivic, the private prison company formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America, announced it will close its Estancia, N.M. facility over the next two months. More than 200 people will lose their jobs as a result of the closing.

The prison was designed to hold between 900 and 950 inmates, but had been operating with fewer than 700. The majority of the prisoners in the facility are undocumented immigrants sent there by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But CoreCivic officials said fewer deportations and border arrests have made it difficult for the facility to be profitable, according to the Albuquerque Journal.

"The reality is that we've been operating at a loss for the last four years," said Warden Chad Miller of CoreCivic. "The question became for the company, 'How long can you run something that's not profitable? At what point do you say enough is enough?'"

Read more: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2017/07/30/New-Mexico-private-prison-to-close-doesnt-have-enough-inmates-to-make-profit/8011501452347/?utm_source=sec&utm_campaign=sl&utm_medium=4