Concentrating illegal immigrants in a few jails may lead to substandard care, opponents say
The Associated Press
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — South Carolina sheriffs back a plan to build three regional prisons in the state to hold illegal immigrants as they await deportation.
Several sheriffs told The (Myrtle Beach) Sun News that the plan would remove the inmates from overcrowded county jails, where they take up valuable space as they await officials to transfer them to the closest federal immigration court in Atlanta.
“It’s easier to do it on a regional level than for each individual county to do it,” said Horry County Sheriff Phillip Thompson.
The current plan calls for the three prisons to hold up to 400 inmates each. State prison officials would run the facilities, to be paid for through the federal Department of Homeland Security, said Jeff Moore of the state Sheriff’s Association, whose organization drafted the plan with help from the governor’s office and federal officials.
But the proposal is awaiting approval from Homeland Security and could be changed considerably, officials said.
Officials also have to figure out who will pay to build the prison.
The S.C. Appleseed Legal Justice Center, an advocacy group for the poor, has said it is concerned that illegal immigrants could be moved miles away from families.
Concentrating illegal immigrants in a few jails may lead to substandard care in those facilities, attorney Tammy Besherse said.