Private prison company CoreCivic has applied for a permit to hold immigration detainees at its dormant Leavenworth facility, the city said on Monday.
The move comes after months of legal battles over the 1,000-bed detention center, which CoreCivic seeks to operate on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In a statement, CoreCivic spokesperson Brian Todd said the company has not conceded its claim that a permit is unnecessary to reopen the facility, which it recently renamed the Midwest Regional Reception Center.
“In an effort to meet the urgent needs of the federal government with respect to its immigration enforcement efforts and continue full operations at MRRC, CoreCivic is assessing all available avenues,” Todd said.
A state court ruling in June blocked the company from reopening the MRRC, which held federal inmates until an executive order by then-President Joe Biden caused its federal contract to expire without renewal in 2022.
By that time, reports of mismanagement and abuse had been piling up for years. Former staff and inmates said they saw preventable drug use, injury and death on a regular basis — problems exacerbated by chronic understaffing, according to a 2017 audit by the U.S. Department of Justice.
A CoreCivic spokesperson previously told the Kansas News Service that most issues with safety and staffing took place in an 18-month period during the pandemic.
“CoreCivic remains firmly committed to operating a safe, transparent and accountable facility,” Todd said.
The company’s decision to apply for a special use permit could bring it closer to operating as a regional hub for President Trump’s campaign to remove people in the U.S. without full legal status — an effort that has been hampered by a lack of detention space for tens of thousands of people facing possible deportation.
The rush to arrest and deport people has raised alarms about detention conditions and due process rights.
Civic groups and former CoreCivic employees have spoken out against the company’s past practices and opposed its plans to hold immigration detainees in Leavenworth.
Some local politicians have publicly supported plans to open an ICE detention center in the city, citing possible economic benefits in the form of new jobs and tax revenue.
But before CoreCivic can fold its Leavenworth property into the nation’s growing immigration detention apparatus, Leavenworth’s city commission would have to grant the permit.
The city announced tentative dates for public meetings in February and March to consider the application.
Zane Irwin reports on politics, campaigns and elections for the Kansas News Service. You can email him at zaneirwin@kcur.org.
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