The GEO Group, Inc. Acquires Maverick County Detention Center, May Reopen as ICE Detention Center in Near Future
By: Miguel Munoz, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2017
According to reliable sources, The GEO Group, Inc., a publicly held stock company dedicated to providing private correctional and re-entry community services to both public governments and private entities, has acquired the real property and improvements formerly known as the Maverick County Detention Center (MCDC) most likely from the Bondholders that financed the development and construction of the 625 bed detention center on behalf of the Maverick County Public Facility Corporation located at 742 FM Road 131, Eagle Pass, Texas, also known as the Radar Base.
Maverick County leased the MCDC facility from the Maverick County Public Facility Corporation and hired The GEO Group, Inc. manage and operate the detention center under a contract with the United States Marshal’s Service to house pre-trial prisoners awaiting disposition of their federal criminal cases in the United States District Court for the Western District, Del Rio Division, in Del Rio, Texas. A contract dispute between Maverick County and The GEO Group, Inc. resulted in The GEO Group, Inc. terminating their services contract with Maverick County and returned the 625 bed facility to Maverick County on October 31, 2013.
Maverick County requested the Maverick County Sheriff’s Department, under the leadership of Sheriff Tom Schmerber, to take over management of the MCDC contract with the U.S. Marshal’s Service on November 1, 2013. Eventually, the MCDC facility became a financial burden to Maverick County due to lower than expected prisoners housed at the facility, requiring that Maverick County return the facility to the Maverick County Public Facility Corporation and canceling the U.S. Marshal’s contract.
The Bondholders of the MCDC sued Maverick County and the Maverick County Public Facility Corporation in federal court for breach of contract and other claims while Maverick County and MCPFC counter-sued the Bondholders, resulting in an amicable settlement in which Maverick County received $500,000 compensation in exchange for both entities releasing all of their rights and interests in the detention center facility.
The Eagle Pass Business Journal attempted to interview a corporate representative of The GEO Group, Inc. last week to learn of the company’s plans for the 625 bed facility and timeline, but The GEO Group, Inc. declined to be interviewed and provide specifics about the future use of the detention center in Eagle Pass, Texas except to admit that they had acquired the facility.
A reliable source informed the Eagle Pass Business Journal that former Deputy Warden Chris Martinez of the Val Verde Correctional Facility in Del Rio, Texas managed and operated by The GEO Group has been selected as the new Chief Warden of the MCDC facility.
The source informed the Eagle Pass Business Journal that the MCDC facility in Eagle Pass, Texas may become a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detention Center as part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation Executive Orders in the immediate future contracted to The GEO Group, Inc. The source noted that the newly acquired MCDC facility needs repairs and upgrades to qualify as a future ICE Detention Center and are currently being made at the facility. There is a possibility that the MCDC facility may also be considered as a possible ICE Family Detention Center.
The MCDC facility and real property is appraised at over $29,000,000 (Million) and will become subject to ad valorem property taxes now that it has become a privately-owned facility, benefiting local governmental tax entities such as Maverick County, Eagle Pass Independent School District, and Maverick County Hospital District. In addition, once opened the facility will hire more than 100 people to manage and operate the facility in the immediate future.
