York County a finalist for detention center for illegal immigrants
A Pike County commissioner says York County, Pike County and a site in New Jersey are being considered for a new federal detention center for illegal immigrants, but officials in York say they haven't been notified.
Harry Forbes said the two Pennsylvania counties, along with Essex County, N.J., are finalists to host the proposed 2,256-bed center, telling the Pocono Record that Immigration and Customs Enforcement might announce the winning location within the next few weeks.
York County Prison Warden Mary Sabol said York "simply responded to a statement of objectives released by (Immigrations Customs Enforcement)," to show interest, but details are scant.
She could not confirm the size of the proposed facility or any other details because she has not received any information from ICE.
"We didn't discuss a lot of particulars," she said.
County commissioner Doug Hoke, who is president of the prison board, said officials received a letter from ICE over the summer, saying the agency was considering building a new facility.
The county responded to express interest, but never provided a business plan or "numbers," and officials haven't heard anything since, he said.
"I never got anything, as the president of the prison board," he said. "Until I get something in writing from them, I don't even consider this on the radar. If they're saying I'm a finalist, I was never notified about that."
Detainees: York County currently holds contracts to house state prisoners and immigration detainees at the county prison, on Concord Road in Springettsbury Township. The federal government pays the county a daily rate for each detainee held at the prison.
In June, Sabol said the prison was holding record numbers of state inmates and federal immigration detainees, averaging more than 900 because of beds freed by a decline in local prisoners.
In Pike County, officials have teamed with Corrections Corporation of America, a private prison provider. Forbes said CCA and Pike officials presented plans to federal authorities on Oct. 22.
-The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach Christina Kauffman at 505-5436, ckauffman@yorkdispatch.com, or follow her on Twitter at @dispatchbizwiz.
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