KARNES CITY, Texas – A larger courtroom had to be used for the overflow of public opinion regarding the planned expansion of a recently opened immigrant family detention center in Karnes County.
The GEO Group is asking the Commissioners Court to amend its contract from 500-plus beds to as many as 1,300.
The commissioners are weighing a proposal that would give the county $100,000 yearly, additional tax revenue and create jobs.
Maurice Yarter said even so, that's no incentive compared to oil and gas revenues.
"Quite frankly, we're in the middle of the Eagle Ford and we don't need it," he said.
But Bill Harr, a GEO employee, told the court, "We're going to be here 10, 20, 30 years from now. This business will be here. The Eagle Ford Shale won't last forever, people."
Already contracted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, GEO also ran the facility for immigrant men before it was retrofitted for many of the women and children who fled to the U.S. earlier this year from Central America.
Jo Ellers said if those numbers at the border are down, "I don't know why all of a sudden it's this rush to build this expansion."
Some in the audience also wondered if the nation's largest family detention center with 2,400 beds is set to open soon in Dilley, why add more beds in Karnes County?
However, Immigration and Customs Enforcement predicts another possible immigrant surge next year.
Also, commissioners were told other families could be relocated to Karnes County from a soon-to-be closed facility in New Mexico.
Karnes County commissioners also have to consider any possible legal liability from recent allegations of sexual abuse at the facility that remain under investigation.
After two public meetings this week, the Commissioners Court is set to vote next Tuesday.