UNION FOR FEDERAL PRISON OFFICERS SUPPORTS TRANSFER OF GITMO INMATES TO BUREAU OF PRISONS

Council of Prison Locals Confident BOP Correctional Officers Will Maintain Safe and Secure Environment

WASHINGTON—The American Federation of Government Employees’ (AFGE) Council of Prison Locals (CPL), which represents correctional officers nationwide, today backed the transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees into the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) – presumably at the Thomson Correctional Center in northern Illinois.

There have been a number of reports suggesting the federal government may consider acquiring the Thomson Correctional Center from the state of Illinois to house Guantanamo Bay detainees under Department of Defense and BOP supervision.

“We fully support housing Guantanamo Bay detainees at the Thomson Correctional Center,” said AFGE National President John Gage. “This is an opportunity to bring thousands of good-paying jobs to an area in desperate need of an economic revival. Furthermore, we do not see a safety risk to the surrounding community. Our correctional officers are the best-trained, most-qualified candidates in the world for this job. We have no doubt BOP correctional officers are up to the task.”

Additionally, CPL President Bryan Lowry added, “Supervising terrorists is nothing new for our BOP correctional officers. They’ve maintained a safe and secure environment at Supermax and they can do it at the Thomson Correctional Center. We welcome the idea of protecting our nation, and the world, from these detainees.”

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The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 600,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.