Tag: Walsenburg

By Ovie Westin | The Denver Gazette The mayor of Walsenburg, Colorado said he would welcome an immigration processing facility in his city, arguing it would boost the local economy, which took a hit when a correctional facility shut down more than a decade ago. Before its closure in 2010, the former Huerfano County Correctional Facility, which had a capacity to hold roughly 800 inmates, had provided the town with a steady source of income, as well as jobs for residents.  Mayor Gary Vezzani told The Denver Gazette that he did not know about the proposal to repurpose the Huerfano prison into an immigration processing facility beforehand; he had not been contacted by federal officials, he said. The beds could be doubled up or the facility would have to be expanded to match th...