Can Importing Prisoners Help Solve Michigan's Economic Woes?

It's no secret that Michigan is enduring the most extreme effects of the nation's economic crisis: Its unemployment rate stands at 15.3%, and the state is functioning on a temporary budget as legislators rush to close a $2.8 billion deficit. In recent years, the financial situation here has been so dire that Michigan has closed several detention facilities, reducing its prison population by thousands. Now, however, the state appears to be viewing prisoners in a different economic light — as a potential revenue generator.

In particular, Michigan is moving to import out-of-state prisoners, and even alleged terrorists detained by the federal government at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The effort could make Michigan an unlikely player in the increasingly lucrative business of transporting prisoners across borders. Already, several states grappling with overcrowded prisons — including California, Pennsylvania and Vermont — spend millions each year sending inmates to private and public prisons in Arizona, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Tennessee and elsewhere. (Read the full story here.)