Inmates Riot At Federal Prison in Texas

Some 2,000 inmates at a federal prison in southern Texas rioted on Saturday, forcing officials to scramble to regain control of the facility, the Los Angeles Times reported. According to a spokesman for Management & Training Corp., the private company that runs the prison, some of the prisoners were protesting medical services at the prison. The prison, in Raymondville about 40 miles northeast of McAllen, is used to house "deportable individuals" who have committed federal crimes and will be sent back to their home countries after their terms have been served. Officers used tear gas against the prisoners, who set fire to 10 of the 200 kevlar tents used to house many of the men. In a 2014 report by the American Civil Liberties Union, "Prisoners reported severely overcrowded and squalid living conditions" including frequent sewage leaks and inadequate medical treatment. Two officers and three inmates have so far received minor injuries and were all treated on site.