View source for Reeves County Detention Complex

The Reeves County Detention Complex is a privately operated immigration detention facility located 3 miles southwest of Pecos, Texas. Opened in 1986 to alleviate overcrowding in county jails, it housed federal inmates from 1988 to 2006 under intergovernmental agreements with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Operated by the GEO Group, it has a capacity of 3,763 prisoners across three sub-complexes, making it one of the largest private prisons globally. The facility holds low-security criminal aliens, primarily serving sentences for drug offenses or immigration violations, who face deportation upon release. Significant incidents include two riots in late 2008 and early 2009, sparked by protests over inadequate medical care and other issues. These riots caused over $21 million in damages, partly due to a large fire during the second incident. Between August 2008 and March 2009, five deaths occurred, notably Jesus Manuel Galindo, a Mexican citizen with epilepsy who was denied treatment despite repeated requests. In May 2017, Texas State Senator Carlos Uresti was indicted for bribery and money laundering related to a medical services contract at the facility. The indictment alleged that Uresti acted as a middleman for bribes paid by Physicians Network Associates (PNA) and its successors to Reeves County administrator Jimmy Galindo in exchange for contract approvals. Payments to Uresti, initially hired as a consultant, continued monthly from 2006 through at least 2014. The facility was ranked among the ten worst prisons in the U.S. by *Mother Jones* in May 2013 due to its high use of long-term isolation ...