UPDATE: CoreCivic issued a new press release on Wednesday, Aug. 5, noting that the company sold the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, Minn., to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The company also sold its 1,033-bed Midwest Regional Reception Center in Leavenworth, Kan., to DHS. The two facilities were sold for a total of $734 million. CoreCivic plans to manage both facilities until their current contracts expire, including the five-year ICE contract in Appleton that the company revealed Tuesday.
A former private prison in Appleton, Minn., will reopen soon as a new federal immigration detention center.
CoreCivic, which owns the Prairie Correctional Facility, issued a news release Tuesday confirming that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) awarded the company a five-year contract that begins Thursday.
The facility, which is located three hours west of the Twin Cities, will begin housing detainees by the end of this year, according to CoreCivic.
Several Appleton residents have voiced opposition to the prison’s reopening as an immigration detention center, citing the deaths of detainees and unsanitary conditions at CoreCivic facilities in other states. Local residents and activists began hosting weekly protests last month in Appleton to oppose the plan.
“Everybody knows that bad things happen all the time all over the world, but when it’s happening right in your community, it just makes it more personal,” Appleton resident Theresa Quinn told Sahan Journal Tuesday.
Quinn, who attended the last protest against reopening the facility and plans to attend more, sees the shuttered prison on her daily walks.
“If I’m wrong, I would love for them to do that documentation and accountability and show us that everyone in there is just fine,” she said. “Until that, I’m going to worry, because all I know about is what has happened in the past, and I’m not a person that goes around crying all the time, but I’ll tell you what, it would make me very sad.”
According to CoreCivic’s news release: The detention center is estimated to generate approximately $75 million in revenue a year. The contract includes a fixed monthly payment and additional payment based on the number of detainees. The facility will ramp up operations throughout the year, and is expected to be fully operational by mid-2027.
The facility has up to 1,600 beds, more than twice Appleton’s population.
CoreCivic, which is based in Brentwood, Tenn., is one of ICE’s largest contractors. The company has nearly 13,000 employees in more than 70 facilities in several states. A CoreCivic media representative reached by Sahan Journal deferred questions about the Appleton contract to ICE, which did not return messages seeking comment.
Tuesday’s announcement comes after CoreCivic made approximately $1 million in renovations to the Appleton facility starting last fall. The prison has been closed since 2010, but Appleton city officials and CoreCivic have discussed the possibility of reopening it for years. Rumors of repurposing the prison as an ICE detention center emerged last year when The Washington Post published an article revealing ICE’s plans to increase its number of detention centers.
“Well, we knew it was coming; it’s not a surprise. I’m disgusted, but it’s not a surprise,” said Brian Wojtalewicz, a longtime Appleton resident who lives about two miles from the prison.
Several immigrant advocates say the development is a concerning sign that federal officials may detain more Minnesotans. Many Minnesota detainees were transferred to federal facilities in Texas and other states during Operation Metro Surge, partly due to capacity issues at local county jails that typically house federal detainees.
“I would absolutely expect to see more enforcement pick up here and across the country,” said Emily Phillips, a member of MN50501, a statewide nonprofit dedicated to protecting democracy. “This [immigration detention] is not something that they’re trying to slow down. This is something that they’re trying to enforce more heavily.”
Appleton city officials react
Appleton City Council Member Jayme Cannon said city officials did not have advance knowledge of CoreCivic’s announcement.
“I don’t know if I would have a feeling towards it other than let’s make the best of it for a community and a business and a need that is being fulfilled,” she told Sahan Journal.
Some Appleton residents support the federal contract, Cannon added.
While city officials have been involved in conversations about the prison’s potential reopening, City Administrator John Olinger said CoreCivic did not need approval from the city since the prison is privately owned. He declined to comment further.
Olinger told Sahan Journal last fall that the city’s housing inventory, medical clinics and water treatment plan would need to expand to accommodate an increase in population due to the facility’s detainees and new employees.
“The city has nothing to say about it,” City Council Member Allan Oyen told Sahan Journal Tuesday. “They [CoreCivic] own the facility. I would guess they could put whoever they want in there.”
Oyen said the Appleton residents who oppose CoreCivic’s plan are “people who disagree with everything.” Cannon and Oyen said they haven’t heard of poor conditions or mistreatment at other federal detention facilities owned and operated by CoreCivic.
Oyen said that while many people agree that federal agents treated Minneapolis residents poorly during Operation Metro Surge, including fatally shooting two residents, he expected things to be different in Appleton.
“Do I think we’ll have that situation here? I don’t think so,” he said. “I certainly hope not.”
Council members James Massee and Vanessa Lhotka-Meyer did not respond to requests for comment.
CORRECTION: The story has been updated to note the correct group hosting protests in Appleton.
