Texas Prison Riot Results in Several Layoffs
RAYMONDVILLE, TEXAS — An overwhelming 2,000 plus inmates rioted recently at a privatized correctional facility located in Southern Texas along the Mexico border.
The riot lasted an extensive two days, and was actually broadcasted throughout the United States, and even the world. The Willacy County Correctional Center is mainly comprised of illegal immigrants, and most of them are held there until they figure out their legal documentation or they are deported back to Mexico. According to prison officials, a mysterious amount of prisoners did not show up to breakfast, nor did even more inmates join the daily work detail that ensued. One of the main reasons that they described for rioting in the aftermath of the revolt was the poor medical care that they provided, including unsanitary living spaces as well as disgusting bathroom facilities.
The prisoners were able to storm the recreation yard of the facility, despite the prison guards countless efforts to lock down the facility. The revolt resulted in the burning down of the facilities makeshift bunk houses, which were actually tents and not stationary buildings. Although that was the majority of the damage done to the facility, it was soon deemed uninhabitable and the prisoners were relocated to correctional facilities located in other Texas towns, such as Pecos, Post, Eden, and Big Spring.
As a result of the prisoners being relocated, the company who operated the facility, Utah-based Management & Training Corporation, has also announced that the prison will be laying off around 300 of its employees permanently. According to staff attorney for ACLU Texas, Adriana Piñon, and the Valley Central News Network Website (Action 4), “uprisings like this are a predictable consequence of the (Bureau of Prisons) turning a blind eye to what happens in these private, for-profit CAR prisons.”
The facility plans to maintain its status as a privatized jail operating along the border of Mexico, but with a whole new staff, new inmates, and hopefully better conditions for the prisoners that they profit from. Although these several layoffs are incredibly serious and detrimental to the local population, as well as the local businesses that cater to the prison, it will soon gain some rejuvenation and hopefully get back to it’s prominence as a means of provision for the community of Raymondville, as well as the County of Willacy.