A private-prison company, Management Training Corporation (MTC), is proposing a detention center in Wyoming that will hold people arrested by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
A photo of a cell inside an MTC-operated ICE detention facility in Southern California. MTC vice president for corrections marketing Mike Murphy pointed to the California facility as an example of what Uinta County could expect. (David Schacher/David Schacher Photography, LLC)
The ICE detention center to be located in Evanston was proposed by MTC to the Uinta County commissioners in 2017 and was quietly worked on until public meetings began to be held. Elected officials in Uinta County have endorsed the prison company’s plans, but opposition is growing not only in Uinta County, but across the state.
Local governments are allowed, according to Wyoming statute, to write contracts with private prison companies. Before that can happen, however, local governments must receive the consent of the state’s five statewide elected officials. Today, that means Gov. Matt Mead, State Treasurer Mark Gordon, State Auditor Cynthia Cloud, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow and Secretary of State Ed Murray.
Mead: Immigration jail isn’t a prison.
Gov. Matt Mead’s spokesman said the proposed immigration jail does not count as a private prison under Wyoming statute and doesn’t require the Governor’s approval to be constructed. So, the next move for the proposed for-profit Evanston jail would probably be by the federal government. The for-profit prison company, Management Training Corporation, has sent its proposal to the Department of Homeland Security, which is seeking new immigration jails around the country.
Meanwhile, immigration and civil rights activists in Wyoming are gearing up for a fight.
We encourage you to join this resistance!
- Learn More: follow the issue on WyoFile and the Uinta County Herald
- Join the coalition of Wyoming Citizens dedicated to stopping the proposed Uinta County Immigration Prison at #WyoSayNo!
- Write to Gov. Mead, Treasurer Gordon, Auditor Cloud, Superintendent Balow, and Secretary Murray.
- Additional information and coverage can be obtained from the websites of the ACLU of Wyoming, www.aclu-wy.org and WyoSayNo on Facebook, www.facebook.com/WyoSayNo/