Appleton detention facility could start holding ICE detainees this fall
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Hundreds of people swept up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers could be detained at a facility in west-central Minnesota as early as this fall.
CoreCivic, which owns a former 1,600 bed private prison in Appleton, has been awarded an ICE contract for the facility, according to an investors announcement posted by the company.
The five year contract starts on Aug. 11. CoreCivic, which runs about 80 detention centers around the country, said in the announcement that they expect detainees to be sent to the facility by the federal government starting in the fall and expects to be fully operational by mid-2027.
The company said it expects the site to bring in about $75 million in annual revenue. The company will receive a fixed monthly payment plus a daily payment based on the number of detainees in the facility.
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“The geographic location of this facility, similar to our other recent contract awards, improves our ability to support our government partner throughout the United States,” CoreCivic Chief Executive Officer Patrick Swindle said in a statement.
CoreCivic referred questions about the contract to the federal government. ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
MPR News reported this summer that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had posted a proposed contract for the facility, which has been vacant since 2010. That contract said the facility was necessary to “meet the administration’s interior enforcement and border compression goals.”
The proposed contract said the facility would serve the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations from the agency’s St. Paul field office. Immigrants detained by ICE in the region are now typically held at Whipple Federal Building near Fort Snelling or at county jails that contract with the federal government.
Detention centers used by ICE, including the facility in Dilley, Tex. operated by CoreCivic, have become flashpoints for protests against the agency and the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
It appears the Appleton facility will also draw public demonstrations.
"AFSCME Council 5 strongly condemns the decision by ICE to contract with CoreCivic to reopen the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton as a for-profit immigrant detention center,” said executive director Bart Anderson in a statement. “This decision is morally wrong, dangerous, and more costly for Minnesota communities, and is fundamentally at odds with the values of dignity, justice, and respect that we hold dear as Minnesotans.”
The organization, which represents more than 40,000 workers including public sector employees, health care workers and non-profit group employees, posted a notice on Facebook about a series of protests to be held every Thursday in Appleton.
But others welcome the news, saying the reopening of the facility will bring needed jobs to the region.
“The announcement that the Prairie Correctional Facility will reopen under a federal contract is welcome news for Senate District 12 and West Central Minnesota,” said State Senator Torrey Westrom, a Republican from Alexandria, located 74 miles from Appleton. “For years, I have worked to highlight the value of this facility and encouraged state and federal leaders to recognize what Appleton has to offer. Despite opposition from DFL state leaders, I continually fought to make the case that leaving a facility like Appleton unused was a missed opportunity.”
