Speech #820226641

Here we have an item for two prisons or stockades to be built. one of them in my district. at a cost of $250.000. and another also at a cost of $250.000. Let me give you some facts and figures. This is to contain illegal aliens. I used to be a member of a county government on the border. and I know what we did to help the Federal Government when it made its request to house these Federal prisoners. We spent thousands of dollars enlarging our jails along the border and improving them to meet Federal conditions so that we could house these illegal aliens. We did it at a cost to the Government of from $1 to $1.50 a day. That is what the Federal Government pays to house these illegal aliens in county jails in my district. Now. after the counties have made this expenditure to improve and enlarge their jails. we see the Immigration Service turning around and saying. "No. we want to take them out of the jails that you have built. we want to put them in Federal prisons we are going to build along the border." We know that the Federal Government cost averages over $3 a day for the prisoners it houses. that in comparison with $1 to $1.50 a day they are paying the counties at this time. It just does not make sense. Just to choose an arbitrary figure of 2.000 prisoners. which I think would be conservative. this means an additional cost to the taxpayer of well over $3.000 a day. plus the capital investment by the Government for the new prisons. To show you the contradiction and waste at this time. there is a bill In the Judiciary Committee to allow counties to house their prisoners in Federal jails because in many parts of the country are Federal prisons overbuilt and standing partially vacant. Yet in this time of deficit financing. we find the Border Patrol asking to build new prisons when the situation is now being met in an economical manner by south Texas counties with a saving to the taxpayer. Not only is the proposed construction uneconomical and expensive to the taxpayer. but it is a prime example of bad faith on the part of the Federal Government after they have encouraged our officers to increase their facilities at great expense to our taxpayers now to remove the prisoners and deny them the small source of revenue that would eventually pay for the improvements. I want to read to you a telegram I have just received from an able law enforcement officer of my district: BROWNSVILLE. TEx.. June 4. 1952.-Please oppose any move by United States Immigration to construct aliendetention camp in our area. This would be very detrimental to our good neighbor relations with Mexico regardless of what some Mexican officials might say. I have improved our county jail at great expense to our taxpayers at the request of Federal Bureau of Prisons and Immigration and can care for 600 prisoners at present. Our jail is inspected regularly by Federal Bureau of Prisons and has met every standard. I cannot see why more taxpayers money should be spent to duplicate facilities already being used and adequate.