Immigrants facing deportation held in private Georgia prison

ATLANTA (AP) - A newspaper reports that immigrants facing deportation are being held in a private prison in Georgia rather than the Atlanta jail.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the decision to put immigrants at the Robert A. Deyton Detention Facility in Lovejoy started in August, after Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms took steps toward banning them from the city’s jail.

The newspaper reported the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had 69 people at the prison in Clayton County last week.

The U.S. Marshals Service told the newspaper it must file a Freedom of Information Act request to get the current cost. But the government was paying $114 per night for each federal detainee held at the Clayton prison during the last fiscal year, compared with $78 per night in Atlanta.

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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com