Firm to Build, Run Prison in Mendota
- Share via
MENDOTA, Calif. — A private prison operator will build a $50-million federal detention facility for illegal immigrants, creating 400 new jobs in this small San Joaquin Valley town, a city official said Monday.
Corrections Corp. of America is a Nashville, Tenn.-based company that has built state and federal prisons across the United States, Mayor Robert Silva said.
“It’s great. It’s something we’ve been working for quite a while,” Silva said. “It’s something that will give a boost to the community and the local economy, which has a 40% unemployment rate during winter months.”
Construction will begin as soon as an environmental impact report is finished and annexation of the 100-acre lot west of the city limits is completed, Silva said.
The 1,000-bed, minimum-security facility will be used to process illegal immigrants awaiting deportation, he said.
Mendota, which has 8,000 residents, is about 130 miles southeast of San Francisco.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
