Federal prisons to close seven facilities amid staffing crisis

The Federal Bureau of Prisons ordered seven facilities closed and two more converted amid a system burdened by crumbling buildings, chronic vacancies and a deferred maintenance backlog that now exceeds $4 billion.

In a July 1 announcement, the bureau will close Beaumont FCI Low in Texas, Big Spring FCI and its satellite camp in Texas, La Tuna FCI, FSL and satellite camp in Texas, Lexington FMC Satellite Camp in Kentucky, Petersburg FCI Low in Virginia, and Taft FCI in California. Morgantown FPC in West Virginia and Duluth FPC in Minnesota will shift from minimum-security camps to FSL facilities.

Staff at Beaumont FCI Low, Lexington FMC Satellite Camp and Petersburg FCI Low will be transferred to other units onsite or nearby. A reduction-in-force will take effect at Big Spring FCI and Satellite Camp and at La Tuna FCI, FSL and Satellite Camp, while only minimal staff will be affected at La Tuna FSL and Taft FCI because those facilities are already non-operational.

William K. Marshall III, who was sworn in as BOP director on April 21, 2025, said the changes were needed to confront long-running infrastructure and staffing failures while keeping the agency focused on safe, secure and efficient operations. Marshall oversees about 36,000 staff and 156,000 federal inmates across 122 Bureau of Prisons facilities.

Congress boosted the bureau with $5 billion in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including $3 billion for staffing and training and $2 billion for infrastructure. Even so, the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General found in 2026 that staffing shortages, deteriorating infrastructure and contraband remained persistent problems, and that substantial additional funding would still be needed to fully repair the system. The Government Accountability Office added federal prison system management to its high-risk list in 2023 because staffing vacancies and heavy overtime posed a serious threat to inmate and staff safety.

In December 2024, the American Federation of Government Employees warned that closing seven facilities would jeopardize about 400 jobs and force disruptive relocations. House Democrats later pressed Marshall in February 2026 over unsafe conditions and a shortage of critical staff. The bureau closed FCI Dublin in December 2024 after years of abuse, decay and mismanagement.