Press conference: September 9, 1 pm, register below.
Media Contacts:
David Dyssegaard Kallick, Director, Immigration Research Initiative
[email protected], (646) 284-1240
Shamier Settle, Senior Policy Analyst, Immigration Research Initiative,
[email protected], (347) 834-5760
Maisum Murtaza, Research Analyst, Keystone Research Center
[email protected]
Moshannon Valley Processing Center (MVPC) was opened in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, as a for-profit prison in 2006, closed in 2021, and re-opened later the same year as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention Center. As the initial ICE fiver-year contract with the county comes stop an end, a joint report released today by Immigration Research Initiative and Keystone Research Center looks at the Clearfield County economy over this two-decade period, and examines whether the prison/detention center affected local employment. The new report, “No Multiplier: MVPC Fails to Spur Local Economy,” highlights how key economic indicators show that, despite the promises made, MVPC has done little to support local economic growth.
National research about the impact of prisons on local economies provides a likely explanation for the lack of job growth. Whatever jobs are created at the facility, the research shows, there is little to no impact on other jobs, and in fact there is some evidence that there may be offsetting job losses in the rest of the private sector. There are very few positive ripple effects for local businesses, while at the same time there are negative ripple effects for businesses that may not want to be near a prison.
A prison or detention center is not all about economics, and it is important to keep in perspective that there are very real human costs of running an ICE detention center.
At the same time, promises of economic benefits have been central to convincing local communities to accept prisons and detention centers. If the jobs claims do not hold up it raises real questions about that local support.
“MVPC puts Clearfield County smack in the middle of the nation’s most controversial issue: ripping immigrants away from jobs and families to put them behind bars. Why risk the controversy when there’s so little evidence of positive economic impacts?” said David Dyssegaard Kallick, director of Immigration Research Initiative.
“There is strong evidence from around the country that prisons and detention centers are not living up to their economic promises. In Moshannon’s case the data shows that the facility is not protecting or insulating the county from economic turmoil or a shrinking workforce.” said Maisum Murtaza, research analyst at The Keystone Research Center.
“The Mosahnnon Valley Processing Center has not made good on its promises of more jobs and a stronger economy for Clearfield County. Better approaches to bolstering this rural community’s economy should be explored instead because the data clearly shows that MVPC is not the key to growth,” said Shamier Settle, senior policy analyst at Immigration Research Initiative.
Representatives of the media are invited to a virtual press conference with the authors of the report on Wednesday, September 9 at 1pm. To sign up to join the call, click here.