A congresswoman says the immigration detention center in Leavenworth, Kansas, is under construction to increase capacity as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Wisconsin Democratic U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore spent more than 2 hours touring the facility this week to meet with two detained immigrants from her district.
Moore told immigration advocates and media after the tour that the increased construction means more immigrants will be housed at the facility.
She said she saw construction throughout the building. Moore said the warden told her the population is currently up to 450.
“Everywhere we went they were building,” she said, “building for more units.
Moore said she expects the facility to house more detainees as construction continues.
“They are building so that they can fill this thing up with twice as many detainees,” she said.
The Midwest Regional Reception Center reopened in March to house immigrants detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In May, the Kansas Reflector reported the building held about 250 people.
The Department of Homeland Security purchased the Leavenworth facility from private prison company CoreCivic last month for $238.4 million.
CoreCivic continues to operate the facility under an agreement with ICE.
Moore said the purchase equals roughly $300,000 per bed. DHS called Moore’s $300,000 figure “a gross distortion of how detention contracts and operational costs work.”
A DHS spokesperson said the agency purchased the Leavenworth facility and a detention facility in Appleton, Minnesota, to provide additional detention space.
“Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe,” the spokesperson said. “It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and ensuring we have resources to carry out President Trump’s mission.”
The spokesperson did not specifically address Moore’s description of construction inside the facility or provide details about plans to increase the number of detainees.
The 450 detainees Moore cited would be a significant growth since the facility reopened. That number is roughly 200 more people than were held there in May and would fill nearly half of the total capacity.
CoreCivic previously said the facility could eventually reach a population of more than 1,000 detainees.
Zach Boblitt reports on the Kansas Statehouse for the Kansas News Service.
The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of Kansas Public Radio, KMUW, KCUR, KRPS and High Plains Public Radio.
Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.