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Uprising': Negotiations Continue With Inmates Who Control Part of Texas Prison That Primarily Holds Immigrants With Criminal Records (UPDATE: Damaged Prison Now 'Uninhabitable')
Law enforcement officials from a wide variety of agencies converge on the Willacy County Correctional Center in Raymondville, Texas on Friday, Feb. 20, 2015 in response to a prisoner uprising at the private immigration detention center. A statement from prison owner Management and Training Corp. said several inmates refused to participate in regular work duties early Friday. Inmates told center officials of their dissatisfaction with medical services. (Image source: AP/Valley Morning Star, David Pike)

Uprising': Negotiations Continue With Inmates Who Control Part of Texas Prison That Primarily Holds Immigrants With Criminal Records (UPDATE: Damaged Prison Now 'Uninhabitable')

...fires were set inside three of the prison's 10 housing units.

UPDATE 12:29 a.m. Sunday EST: RAYMONDVILLE, Texas (AP) — As many as 2,800 federal prisoners will be moved to other institutions after inmates seized control of part of a prison in South Texas, causing damage that made the facility "uninhabitable," an official said Saturday.

Ed Ross, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, said the inmates who had taken control are "now compliant" but that negotiations were ongoing Saturday in an effort for staff to "regain complete control" of Willacy County Correctional Center.

"The situation is not resolved, though we're moving toward a peaceful resolution," FBI spokesman Erik Vasys said Saturday evening.

It wasn't immediately clear what progress had been made through the negotiations, but Sheriff Larry Spence said there were no hostages involved in the standoff and only minor injuries reported. Spence said the inmates "have pipes they can use as weapons."

Management & Training Corp., the private contractor that operates the center for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, said about 2,000 inmates became disruptive Friday because they're upset with medical services and refused to perform work duties.

MTC spokesman Issa Arnita said in a statement that prisons officials have begun moving the inmates and that the process would continue into next week.

Arnita said prison administrators met with inmates Friday to address their concerns but that the prisoners "breached" their housing units and reached the recreation yard. The Valley Morning Star reports fires were set inside three of the prison's 10 housing units.

Authorities say about 800 to 900 other inmates are not participating in the disturbance. The inmates being held at the facility, which is in far South Texas more than 200 miles south of San Antonio, are described as "low-level" offenders who are primarily immigrants in the U.S. illegally.

"Correctional officers used non-lethal force, tear gas, to attempt to control the unruly offenders," Arnita said in the statement.

No inmate breached two perimeter security fences, and there's no danger to the public, he said.

The large Kevlar tents that make up the facility were described in a 2014 report by the American Civil Liberties Union as not "only foul, cramped and depressing, but also overcrowded."

The report said that inmates reported that their medical concerns were often ignored by staff and that corners were often cut when it came to health care.

Brian McGiverin, a prisoners' rights attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, said that he was not surprised inadequate medical care could ignite a riot. He said medical care is grossly underfunded in prisons, especially in ones run by private contractors.

"It's pretty abysmal with regard to modern standards how people should be treated, pretty much anywhere you go," he said.

UPDATE 7:01 p.m. EST: RAYMONDVILLE, Texas (TheBlaze/AP) — As many as 2,800 inmates will be moved to other facilities one day after several hundred prisoners seized control of part of a federal prison in South Texas, an official said.

A previous Associated Press report said about 2,000 inmates seized control of the facility.

The Willacy County Correctional Center in Raymondville is now "uninhabitable due to damage caused by the inmate population," U.S. Bureau of Prisons spokesman Ed Ross said in a statement.

Willacy County Sheriff Larry Spence on Saturday declined to discuss the main points of the negotiations but said there are no hostages involved and only minor injuries reported.

Authorities say about 800 to 900 other inmates are not participating in the disturbance. The inmates being held at the facility are described as "low-level" offenders who are primarily immigrants in the U.S. illegally.

Original story below

RAYMONDVILLE, Texas (TheBlaze/AP) — A sheriff said negotiations are continuing with about 2,000 inmates who've seized control of part of a federal prison that primarily holds immigrants with criminal records in what he called an "uprising."

Willacy County Sheriff Larry Spence didn't go into detail about the negotiations Saturday but said there are no hostages involved and only minor injuries reported.

Law enforcement officials from a wide variety of agencies converge on the Willacy County Correctional Center in Raymondville, Texas on Friday, Feb. 20, 2015 in response to a prisoner uprising at the private immigration detention center. A statement from prison owner Management and Training Corp. said several inmates refused to participate in regular work duties early Friday. Inmates told center officials of their dissatisfaction with medical services. (Image source: AP/Valley Morning Star, David Pike)

Management & Training Corp., the private contractor that operates the Willacy County Correctional Center in south Texas for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, said inmates became disruptive early Friday. They're upset with medical services and refused to perform work duties.

The contractor said inmates "breached" their housing units and reached the recreation yard. The Valley Morning Star reports fires were set inside three of the prison's 10 housing units.

Follow Dave Urbanski (@DaveVUrbanski) on Twitter

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