Community split on ICE detention center opening in Appleton, but many just want the area revitalized
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A man wearing a pickle costume and ranting into a bullhorn is backed by about two dozen people holding signs condemning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Across the highway, a handful of counter-protesters under a Trump flag shout insults beside cardboard signs that say “ICE, ICE, Baby.”
The announcement this week that the long vacant Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, will become the newest Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center sent shockwaves through the small towns in the region.
News that the formerly privately-owned prison will reopen as an ICE detention center has divided some community members. Supporters see reopening as a potential economic boon for the struggling town of Appleton. Opponents believe an ICE detention center is morally reprehensible, and a drain on community resources.
Kris Shelstad owns ‘The Merc’ or Madison Mercantile in nearby Madison. It’s a sprawling complex containing a coffeeshop, coworking spaces and even a plant grow room. Appleton and Madison were once rival towns, but now share a high school.
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Shelstad grew up in Madison but only returned a few years ago, after her husband passed away unexpectedly. She proudly shows off her city’s still vibrant downtown, which she credits to the city’s hospitable attitudes.
“If we want to survive, if we want to thrive, we have to be welcoming, and that means whether you're from Minneapolis or Mexico or the town down the road, you have to feel welcome in this town,” Shelstad said.
Shelstad has friends who already work in the former prison, which has been closed since 2010. She doesn’t begrudge their chance to make a decent living, but the retired Army veteran just believes ICE’s activities are morally wrong.
“Even though this might be some economic benefit for this person or that family, it's still hard to square with the history of ICE, the illegal detentions, the inhumane treatment, and things like that,” Shelstad said. “I spent 30 years in the Army, and I saw that kind of action in foreign countries, and it is literally appalling to see it happen in my own country.
Facility closing in 2010 was a ‘big kick in the butt’
Some members of the community were further alarmed when private prison company CoreCivic announced that it was selling the facility to the federal government for almost half a billion dollars. CoreCivic, who bought the facility in 1997 for $74 million, will still operate the site for the government.
Appleton City Council Member James Massee said the loss of about 400 jobs when the private prison closed took a toll on his small town, where the downtown is now dotted with vacant storefronts.
“That has a huge impact on your community on housing and sales to bars, and restaurants, and grocery stores and hardware stores,” Massee said. “When they closed, it was a big kick in the butt.”
The sale of the facility to the federal government means it would likely be taken off the tax rolls. Massee estimates that the city could lose about 30 percent of its tax base, although local officials are holding out hope that the federal government will offer the community more.
Therese Quinn who lives just outside of Appleton said she’s worried the federal purchase will mean even less money makes its way to city services. She and others worry reopening the facility will also stretch limited resources like health care and law enforcement.
”We're not like a huge wealthy community out here,” said Quinn. “People here are all workers. I don't know how [the town is] going to survive.”
Edwin Coyour was driving his black truck around the anti-ICE protest in Appleton adorned with signs that said “Welcome ICE” and “Deport Democrats.” He grew up in Appleton and returned after spending a few decades in the Twin Cities.
Coyour said he believes people who came to the United States without documentation should be removed from the country. But he’d also like to see his hometown, where the downtown is dotted with vacant storefronts, revitalized.
”I just want to see the community prosper a little bit. I want to see it grow,” Coyour said. “I'd like my kids to be around here. One’s in the Metro and one’s in Sioux Falls. There's nothing here for them, unfortunately, but that's just how it goes.”
‘You got to live together’
Many people in the area are waiting, and hoping for the best outcome.
Shawn Swenson owns the Apple Barrel bar in Appleton and a number of other businesses in town, including a hardware store and floral shop. The sale of the facility to the federal government surprised him because CoreCivic, which owns and operates detention centers around the country, had only been paying a fraction of the sale price in property taxes to the city, which has had to maintain services to the facility all those years in case it reopened.
Swenson hopes reopening the facility will mean more jobs for locals. Even if the company brings in outside workers, he hopes it means they’ll put down roots in the town or at least spend paychecks there. He’d even welcome protesters, who he said would also bring money into the community.
“I'm kind of torn because if it is federal, they could close it at any time and walk away,” Swenson said. “So, how do you invest yourself into what could be?”
Swenson doesn’t have an opinion on the moral rightness of housing ICE detainees. He acknowledges the division in the community that reopening the facility is causing, but thinks residents will continue talking to one another and work it out.
“We have some real proponents each way, and we all get along. We all meet each other in the grocery store every day,” Swenson said. “If you don't like each other, you don't have to be friends, but you got to live together.”
Adam Conroy is the editor and publisher of the Western Guard, a weekly independently-owned newspaper that’s published since 1891. He sees a pretty even split on how residents feel about reopening the former prison.
“The instant opportunity for jobs, local spending – all of that is exciting, especially in a town that has kind of been hit hard like Appleton,” Conroy said. “But then there's another crowd that sees the long game. Is that the attention we want out here? Potentially losing the tax dollars, will that hurt more than the economic gain?”
Residents are also worried about how the ICE detention center could impact their immigrant neighbors. The region has seen an influx of immigrants from Micronesia, who Conroy said now make up the high school’s entire boy’s volleyball team.
“These are our neighbors. These are our friends, classmates,” Conroy said. “We want them here. We don't want them being harassed.”
Kevin Plemmons will be the only person on the ballot this November to run for mayor of Appleton. He sees his role as helping to shepherd his community through this change.
“No matter what side you stand on, the focus has to be the community and bringing in more revenue,” Plemmons said. “Whether that's an employee tax base, businesses getting more revenue – anything will help us right now.”
Although some angry words were exchanged between the protesters and counter-protesters across the street, Plemmons said he has faith people in the area will work it out. Every once in a while a semi driver would lay on their horn for the anti-ICE protesters or an SUV driver would roll down their window and flash a middle finger.
“That's one of the very good parts of Appleton and the rural areas around. We don't get angry-angry at each other,” Plemmons said. “We can have our disagreements like this is going on, but no one's throwing rocks, no one's throwing beer bottles.”
At “The Merc” in nearby Madison, Shelstad said she’s not afraid of blowback for taking a stand against the ICE detention center.
“If you are professing to be a churchgoer, a Christian, or whatever, you have to be on the side of the humans, you have to be on the side of the accused or the downtrodden,” Shelstad said. “I'm at the point in my life where I'm gonna say and do the right thing, no matter what the repercussions are.”
Prairie Correctional Facility, which has been shuttered since 2010, is set to start operations next week. The first detainees are expected to arrive this fall. The 1,600 bed facility is expected to be at full operation by mid-2027.
