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Customs Proposes Littlefield Detention Center Hold Illegal Immigrants

With the growing numbers of illegal immigrants that are coming into the US there is a growing hunt for places to house all of them. Clearly the federal government isn’t going to let them run free into the sunset, so they have been looking for places to detain the people awaiting sentencing. All of the usual places that the immigrants go have been at capacity and over for weeks now, and federal agents are desperately looking for places to house these people. That is where Littlefield, Texas comes in.

Littlefield, Texas is a small town located outside of Lubbock, Texas. In Littlefield there is a minimum security prison. When the prison was built, at a cost of $11 million, it was expected to be a juvenile detention center. But ever since 2009 it has been sitting vacant at the cost of the citizens of Littlefield. There are now talks between the Littlefield city council and the federal agency Immigration and Customs Enforcement proposing the Littlefield Detention Center hold illegal immigrants at the vacant prison. Although this could spell trouble for the town in terms of anti-immigration activists, it could potentially bring in $10 million dollars a year. That would bring Littlefield out of debt, and create jobs for local citizens. Economically, it is probably one of the better decisions for the town, but it might cause some strife between citizens.

Littlefield City Manager Mike Arismendez says that there are four different groups of illegal immigrants that come into the country. Males, females, family units, and unaccompanied minors. Arismendez said that it is most likely that family units would be detained at the detention facility. When asked about whether or not the opinion of the citizens would play a role in the illegal immigrants coming to the small town, Arismendez said that the decision will ultimately be made by the City Council. Get ready Littlefield, your economy could be bustling before you know it.