I’m outside Victorville prison where 3 buses with Dept. of Homeland Security and ICE logos just pulled out of the facility. 1,000 immigration detainees will be housed here - we believe it’s the first time on a large-scale immigrants will be held in federal prisons @KPCC
Sources tell me 240 immigrant detainees are arriving today out of a total of 1,000 planned. This is a facility where the union representing prison guards has raised red flags about staffing issues - more from earlier coverage by Victorville Daily Press: vvdailypress.com/news/20170930/…
Derek Loh, attorney w/ Immigrant Defenders Law Center, says they’re getting no word on whether clients will be held in this federal prison at Victorville. “This prison was designed to house convicted criminals. Immigrant detainees are in civil proceedings. They’re not criminals” 
Jon Zumkehr, VP of local 3969, the federal prison guard union ‘repping 600 employees at Victorville. They’ve raised red flags with the warden & Bureau of Prisons that staffing is too low. On news of immigrant detainees: “It was a shock. It completely changes things around here.”
Zumkehr: employees found out on Tuesday in a meeting “they’re going to give us 1,000 new people but not one new staff member.” Says medical staff at the prison is a huge concern — doctors, nurses, assistants, etc. Says they’ve raised the problem with management multiple times
Bureau of Prisons: 1,672 immigrant detainees are headed to federal prison facilities in 5 states. How long will this last? Months, at least.
“The BOP has been asked to provide the beds for 120 days, although the agreements provide for 12 months to allow for flexibility if needed”
“The BOP has been asked to provide the beds for 120 days, although the agreements provide for 12 months to allow for flexibility if needed”
Immigration detainees are being held at one of the medium security facilities at Victorville. From the Bureau of Prisons website today:
Why is this happening? ICE spokeswoman Danielle Bennett told @KPCC they need the beds in federal prisons "due to the current surge in illegal border crossings and implementation of the U.S. Department of Justice's zero-tolerance policy." Advocates argue it’s a manufactured crisis
