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Feds Tour Mich. Prison Eyed as New Gitmo

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 13, 2009 6:17 AM CDT

(Newser) – Obama administration officials are traveling to Michigan today to visit a maximum-security prison that could be used to hold some or all of the 229 terrorism suspects now at Guantanamo Bay, reports the Detroit News. Members of the Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security Departments are all touring the facility. Local politicians are anxious that the prison may close without the influx of new detainees.

Standish prison employs more than 300 people, the largest in the region, and city officials warn of dire economic consequences if the facility closes. Many locals are skittish about an influx from Guantanamo, with one resident warning that "jihadists love soft targets." But one state legislator dismissed their concerns: "I don't believe they are super human beings or any more dangerous than the Crips and the Bloods."

President Barack Obama caps his pen after he signed an executive order closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.
President Barack Obama caps his pen after he signed an executive order closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Razor wire lines a fence in the Camp 4 detention facility on the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Razor wire lines a fence in the Camp 4 detention facility on the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.   (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
Guantanamo detainees pray before dawn in the Camp 4 detention facility on the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008.
Guantanamo detainees pray before dawn in the Camp 4 detention facility on the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008.   (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
Paul Piche, a corrections officer at Standish Maximum Correctional Facility, holds placard demanding the recall of Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Monday, Aug. 3, 2009 in Standish, Mich.
Paul Piche, a corrections officer at Standish Maximum Correctional Facility, holds placard demanding the recall of Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Monday, Aug. 3, 2009 in Standish, Mich.   (AP Photo/John Flesher)
A Navy officer replaces an official picture of George W. Bush with that of Barack Obama in the lobby of the headquarters of the US Naval Station, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009.
A Navy officer replaces an official picture of George W. Bush with that of Barack Obama in the lobby of the headquarters of the US Naval Station, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009.   (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, Pool)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 4 comments
Ucantusethatname
Aug 13, 2009 11:44 AM CDT
Great idea. If Michigan can't make cars, it could still make license plates.
aprilfool
Aug 13, 2009 6:50 AM CDT
... or the Michigan Militia.
BeatBlaster
Aug 13, 2009 4:41 AM CDT
Regardless - once you get into the boonies in Michigan you'd better have your stuff together cause it ain't nice out there!

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