Tuesday’s meeting was one of the last chances for opponents and supporters of the proposed immigration detention center to testify. Leavenworth, Kansas, officials plan a vote to approve or deny a permit request in the coming weeks.
LEAVENWORTH — Tensions ran high in Leavenworth, Kansas, Tuesday evening. Protesters gathered outside city hall as city leaders considered a private prison company’s application to house immigration detainees in the historic prison town.
It was the first of at least two public hearings by the city commission. The body could decide as soon as March 10 whether to grant CoreCivic a permit to operate a dormant 1,000-bed facility as an immigration detention center for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In Tuesday’s meeting, the commission voted four to one to move forward with the application — but they amended the agreement to add a community task force designed to hold CoreCivic accountable for any lapses in its agreement with the city. Leavenworth and CoreCivic would appoint the members, but final details of the group would be worked out later.
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“We are open to collaboration,” CoreCivic spokesperson John Malloy said during the meeting. “Clearly, it needs to happen.”
Earlier this month, the city’s planning commission — a separate body appointed by the mayor and city commission — voted to recommend approval of CoreCivic’s application for a special use permit.
If Leavenworth officials ultimately approve the application, CoreCivic is expected to swiftly begin holding adult detainees. The facility would bolster President Donald Trump’s sweeping campaign to deport immigrants who lack full legal status.
If CoreCivic’s permit application is rejected, the company is expected to continue arguing in court that it is not legally required to apply for a permit.
For nearly a year, the inactive detention center has sat at the center of an ongoing legal battle and a furious public debate.
More than 60 supporters and opponents took the lectern at Leavenworth City Hall on Tuesday. Dozens more gathered outside, waving signs and chanting “No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA.”
One protester, Leavenworth resident Darley Kasper, said she opposes the facility because of how it will contribute to Trump’s immigration policies.
“For me, it’s a moral thing,” she said. “People come to the States looking for a better life for not just themselves but also their children.”
Many opponents referenced past alleged abuses at the facility. Before the detention center closed at the end of 2021, 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.
Several current CoreCivic employees read statements urging commissioners to approve the application.
Taylor Mullins, a detention officer who identified herself as a veteran, said she recognized concerns about the facility’s past and broader immigration enforcement.
“Those concerns are legitimate,” she said. “But I also believe strongly that we now have an opportunity to rebuild this facility in a way that reflects the standards this community expects.”
City commissioners’ comments to CoreCivic ranged from polite inquiry to stern distrust. Commissioner Holly Pittman, who was mayor when CoreCivic’s legal battle with the city began, showed a printout of a political attack ad the company ran against her.
Before public comments began, Mayor Nancy Bauder told protesters “I might be right there with you” if she wasn’t on the commission.
Commissioners peppered CoreCivic officials with questions about how local and federal authorities could keep tabs on conditions in the facility. Warden Misty Mackey said the company could finalize agreements with local hospitals and law enforcement once the permit process is over.
As the night wore on, tensions also flared among commissioners. They appeared confused about the parliamentary procedure to amend the conditions of the permit.
Multiple commissioners said they were content to review the finer details of the agreement in three years, when the company’s special use permit would be up for renewal.
Zane Irwin reports on politics, campaigns and elections for the Kansas News Service. You can email him at zaneirwin@kcur.org.
The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW 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.
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