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Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal ProcedureRelease 119-73

§4003 Federal institutions in States without appropriate facilities

Title 18 › Part PART III— - PRISONS AND PRISONERS › Chapter CHAPTER 301— - GENERAL PROVISIONS › § 4003

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

When a State, Territory, or local government refuses or cannot make a contract to hold, feed, care for, or properly employ United States prisoners, or when there are no suitable places at a reasonable cost, the Attorney General can pick a site in or near that area and build a detention facility (for example, a jail, workhouse, prison‑industry project, or camp). The facility will hold people detained under federal law and others the Attorney General thinks should be confined there.

Full Legal Text

Title 18, §4003

Crimes and Criminal Procedure — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

If by reason of the refusal or inability of the authorities having control of any jail, workhouse, penal, correctional, or other suitable institution of any State or Territory, or political subdivision thereof, to enter into a contract for the imprisonment, subsistence, care, or proper employment of United States prisoners, or if there are no suitable or sufficient facilities available at reasonable cost, the Attorney General may select a site either within or convenient to the State, Territory, or judicial district concerned and cause to be erected thereon a house of detention, workhouse, jail, prison-industries project, or camp, or other place of confinement, which shall be used for the detention of persons held under authority of any Act of Congress, and of such other persons as in the opinion of the Attorney General are proper subjects for confinement in such institutions.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., § 753c (May 14, 1930, ch. 274, § 4, 46 Stat. 326). Words “with or without hard labor” were omitted as unnecessary in view of omission of “hard labor” as part of the punishment. (See reviser’s note under section 1 of this title.) The phrase “held under authority of any Act of Congress,” was substituted for the following “held as material witnesses, persons awaiting trial, persons sentenced to imprisonment and awaiting transfer to other institutions, persons held for violation of the immigration laws or awaiting deportation, and for the confinement of persons convicted of offenses against the United States and sentenced to imprisonment”. Minor changes in arrangement and phraseology were made.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

18 U.S.C. § 4003

Title 18 — Crimes and Criminal Procedure

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73