Washington D.C. (D.A.S.) – Despite rampant speculation and mounting anxiety among inmates, families, and staff, the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) timeline for closing seven federal facilities appears to be considerably longer than initial rumors suggested – and may face significant delays or even reversal due to mounting legal and congressional opposition.
The closure plan involves Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Dublin in California, federal prison camps in Duluth, Minnesota, and Pensacola, Florida (eliminating 326 positions), the camp in Morgantown, West Virginia (75 positions), and three satellite camps (FCI Oxford – WI; FCI Englewood – CO; FCI Loretto – PA).
According to BOP documents, while some facilities face complete closure, the satellite camps will see a different timeline, with deactivation processes “beginning in 90 days” rather than immediate transfers.
Legal Challenges Mount
As previously reported, the American Federation of Government Employees Council of Prison Locals 33 has filed for an injunction with the Federal Labor Relations Authority, potentially derailing or significantly delaying the closure timeline. The union’s filing charges that the Bureau failed to provide required advance notice and bargaining opportunities regarding the procedures for affected staff. A decision on the injunction could come as early as Wednesday.
“The agency’s plans to reorganize were kept secret from the union until the date and time that the plans were published to the affected employees,” according to the union’s filing, which requests expedited processing.
Congressional Opposition Builds
Multiple senators have voiced strong opposition to the Bureau’s plans. “This is a very serious decision with major implications for the public servants working at Federal Prison Camp Morgantown, their families, and the surrounding community,” Senator Joe Manchin told The Dominion Post. “A decision of this magnitude should be delayed until the incoming administration is in place.”
Senator Shelley Moore Capito expressed similar concerns: “I don’t know what the rush is. We had no indication this is coming, so we’re concerned about it. The timing of it is very discomforting.” Regarding staff transfers, Capito added, “There’s probably a reason some of them are not working at Hazelton now,” suggesting that forced relocations might not be feasible for many employees.
As reported in our previous coverage, Senator Mike Lee’s office is investigating claims of premature service reductions at facilities like FCI Englewood’s satellite camp, where families report inmates are already experiencing restricted access to medical care and other services.
Extended Timeline Contradicts Rumors
“We anticipate this process to begin simultaneously with all identified facilities and be concluded in approximately nine months from this announcement,” the Bureau of Prisons told The Dominion Post, contradicting widespread rumors of immediate closures or January deadlines circulating among staff and inmates.
Contrary to internal reports from BOP staff at the institutions involved, the idea of shuttering facilities by the end of January 2025 does not appear to be on the table. The agency’s senior human resource official L. Cristina Griffith indicated in a December 5 union notification that while changes would begin within 90 days for some facilities, potential layoffs wouldn’t begin for nine months. “It is our objective to avoid formal [reduction in force] procedures and to carry out this change with as little disruption to employees as possible,” she wrote.
Uncertain Future
The combination of legal challenges and congressional opposition creates significant uncertainty about whether the closures will proceed as planned – or at all. The timing of the announcement, less than two months before President-elect Trump returns to the White House, has raised additional questions about the plan’s future.
AFGE National President Everett Kelley warned that if President-elect Trump institutes a hiring freeze across the federal government, as he did at the start of his first term, finding federal work for affected employees outside of BOP would be “difficult if not impossible.”
The situation is particularly complex given the existing staffing crisis within the federal prison system. The Government Accountability Office added management of the federal prison system to its high-risk list in 2023, citing staffing as a “longstanding issue” where “vacancies and the growing use of overtime to help address them continue to present a serious threat to inmate and staff safety.”
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This article draws from reporting by The Dominion Post, Government Executive, and original BOP documents. Contributors include Sean Michael Newhouse and David Beard.