Arizona is second in the nation for the number of private prisons it uses, but some in the Legislature want the state to be the first to have a prison in another country.

A bill that would make that possible passed the House and is headed for hearings in the Senate.

H2709 authorizes the construction of a private prison in Mexico to house Mexican nationals convicted of crimes in Arizona. The House approved the bill March 8 by a vote of 39-20.

“The whole purpose of this is to save money,” said Rep. Russ Jones, R-24, the bill’s sponsor.

H2709 stipulates that any money saved by housing the prisoners in the 2,500-bed private prison is to be split equally between the General Fund and a Correctional Service Officer Salary Fund — created by the legislation — to generate additional money to give raises to correctional officers.

During March 3 floor debate, Mr. Jones said the state pays more than $100 million annually to incarcerate Mexican nationals that have been convicted in Arizona courts. It is an outrage for taxpayers to pay for those prisoners, he said.

“If we had $100 million more in our coffers, maybe we could address those issues we squabble about every day,” he said.

Opponents said the legislation was merely “symbolic” because it does not actually create the prison. Nor does it address many of the important issues that come along with building a private prison in a foreign country, they say, such as health care for prisoners, the cost of capturing escaped inmates and whether Mexican or Arizona law governs civil rights complaints.

Private Vs. State Prisons

They also argued that there is still considerable debate as to whether private prisons are saving the state any money.

Rep. Ted Downing, D-28, said Mexican law has a caveat in it that allows for the outright release of some prisoners. The bill, he said, doesn’t identify which local laws would apply at the facility.

“Is it possible under the bill that a clever lawyer could say people are improperly detained in Mexico and all of the prisoners could be released?” he wondered during the floor debate.

Mr. Jones said the bill does not address those issues because they would have to be negotiated between the U.S. and Mexican federal governments. He said he hopes the bill would bring the two governments to the table to discuss a treaty allowing the prison.

Minority Whip Pete Rios, D-23, said the idea of segregating Mexican nationals in prison from their U.S-citizen counterparts is nothing new, though the idea of putting them in Mexico is. National leaders in Mexico, he said, find the proposal “offensive.” Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-15, said Mexican President Vicente Fox has publicly opposed an American prison on Mexican soil.

However Speaker Jim Weiers said none of the Mexican leaders he met with were upset at the proposal when he traveled to Mexico with a delegation of Arizona officials earlier this month.

Mr. Jones contends this is the last recourse the state has to involve the federal government in discussions about incarcerating foreign nationals. The cost — picked up by the state — is supposed to be theirs, and Governor Napolitano recently sent invoices to the U.S. government for the cost of housing the prisoners.

“Sending a postcard, at this point, I don’t think is going to get their attention,” he said.

An appropriation amount to begin the process is left blank in the House-passed version. —