The Associated Press reports federal officials are evaluating a prison in rural Standish, Michigan, as a possible site to hold Gitmo prisoners.

It’s not surprising to me that officials would head to an economically depressed state to try to do this.

Youngstown famously became associated with prisons, some of which were privately run, moving into town in the wake of the loss of steel jobs.

Opinion amongst locals on the prison is mixed, the AP reports.

Some think it would make the area a terrorist target. And surprisingly, union workers at the prison don’t support the idea, as they fear they would be replaced by federal guards brought in from outside the area.

There’s the jobs argument: “Some locals favor bringing the detainees to Standish if necessary to keep the prison from closing. The prison is the region’s largest employer, with about 340 workers, and its closing would really harm the local economy, Republican state Rep. Tim Moore said. The region’s unemployment rate is more than 17%.”

Thoughts?