News
Council to discuss proposed 'center for families' in U.S. illegally
Thelma Grimes/San Pedro Valley News-Sun
The Benson City Council will be discussing a proposal to build a 100,000-square-foot facility to house illegal immigrants at its meeting Monday at 7 p.m.
City Manager Glenn Nichols said the proposed facility will house women and children awaiting court or waiting to testify against Coyotes, who smuggle undocumented immigrants across the border. While the facility is not being called a detention center, residents would not be allowed to leave.
Richard Reyes of Innovative Government Strategies, and James Parkey and Toby Michael of Corplan Corrections are proposing the 25-acre facility.
Nichols said it is not a detention center to hold undocumented immigrants being held for felonies. Instead, it will house families who are in the country illegally.
The facility is being called the "Family Residential Centers of the Southwest."
According to a brief summary provided by City Clerk Vicki Vivian, the developer is looking at land off Ocotillo Road near the Benson Municipal Airport, but said they would be open to any location the city suggests.
The plans call for a 104,000-square-foot facility with basketball courts and soccer fields, along with residential quarters that would house up to 200 illegal immigrants. The plan estimates phase one of the project will house up to 50 adults and 150 children.
The city would earn a sponsor fee of $3 per day per resident. At capacity, that could mean $600 a day for the city to "use as the city sees fit."
The facility would employ up to 150 people, with an estimated average salary of $32,000 a year.
According to the proposal, the financing period for the $20-million facility would span 21 years, at which time the city would become the sole operator and could keep all profits.
Nichols said it is important for the public to understand that the council will only be listening to a presentation from the developers and asking questions Monday night.
No action will be taken, he said.
In 2004, Benson residents overwhelmingly opposed a 500-bed detention/rehabilitation center that was proposed on 36 acres of land near State Route 80.
The Benson City Council will be discussing a proposal to build a 100,000-square-foot facility to house illegal immigrants at its meeting Monday at 7 p.m.
City Manager Glenn Nichols said the proposed facility will house women and children awaiting court or waiting to testify against Coyotes, who smuggle undocumented immigrants across the border. While the facility is not being called a detention center, residents would not be allowed to leave.
Richard Reyes of Innovative Government Strategies, and James Parkey and Toby Michael of Corplan Corrections are proposing the 25-acre facility.
Nichols said it is not a detention center to hold undocumented immigrants being held for felonies. Instead, it will house families who are in the country illegally.
The facility is being called the "Family Residential Centers of the Southwest."
According to a brief summary provided by City Clerk Vicki Vivian, the developer is looking at land off Ocotillo Road near the Benson Municipal Airport, but said they would be open to any location the city suggests.
The plans call for a 104,000-square-foot facility with basketball courts and soccer fields, along with residential quarters that would house up to 200 illegal immigrants. The plan estimates phase one of the project will house up to 50 adults and 150 children.
The city would earn a sponsor fee of $3 per day per resident. At capacity, that could mean $600 a day for the city to "use as the city sees fit."
The facility would employ up to 150 people, with an estimated average salary of $32,000 a year.
According to the proposal, the financing period for the $20-million facility would span 21 years, at which time the city would become the sole operator and could keep all profits.
Nichols said it is important for the public to understand that the council will only be listening to a presentation from the developers and asking questions Monday night.
No action will be taken, he said.
In 2004, Benson residents overwhelmingly opposed a 500-bed detention/rehabilitation center that was proposed on 36 acres of land near State Route 80.
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