The Bluebonnet Detention Center is a prison in Anson, Texas, operated by the Management and Training Corporation (MTC) under contract for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). [1]
The 1100-bed 122,000 square feet (11,300 m2) facility was built in 2010 (as the Texas Midwest/Jones County Detention Center) to house Texas Department of Criminal Justice prisoners. Immediately after the prison was constructed, the state rescinded the contract, leaving $35 million in bonds unresolved. GEO Group was in discussions to buy the facility in 2017 to house ICE prisoners, but the deal fell through. [2] [3] [4]
A five-year contract for $145 million was signed in 2019 to house ICE detainees by MTC. The contract pays $106 per day per detainee. [3] [5] [6]
Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson, Texas
Originally, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice was going to use the facility, but the 1,100-bed prison was scrapped from the state's plans just days after construction started.
Jones County had planned to house prisoners for the Texas Department of Corrections, but 10 days after the jail facility was built, the state told the county it wasn't going to need the beds.