CoreCivic argued Tuesday for the right to begin holding prisoners in its closed Leavenworth facility, even as the company is working through a local permit process that could make the court case irrelevant.
CoreCivic is a step closer to reopening its private prison in Leavenworth as a lucrative immigration detention center after the city planning commission approved a special use permit over objections from local advocates.
Private prison company CoreCivic has applied for a permit to hold immigration detainees at its dormant Leavenworth facility, the city said on Monday.
CoreCivic signed a new contract valued at $60 million a year with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to house migrant detainees at its Leavenworth facility, but the agreement won’t take effect until legal issues are resolved.
The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday joined a private prison company in its legal fight with Leavenworth city officials, accusing the city of “aggressive and unlawful” interference with immigration enforcement.
Seemingly undeterred by legal setbacks, private prison company CoreCivic is on a hiring spree to staff a Leavenworth detention center and showing every sign that it intends to fulfill its contract with ICE.
A Leavenworth District Court judge reaffirmed his decision to bar CoreCivic from housing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement prisoners at its closed facility, rejecting the private prison company’s appeal to reconsider.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement used the pretense of a national emergency to justify a secret, no-bid contract with CoreCivic that would pay the company $4.2 million per month to house detained immigrants at its vacant Leavenworth prison.
A Kansas district court barred CoreCivic Wednesday from reopening its shuttered prison until the company goes through Leavenworth’s development process to receive a special use permit.
A U.S. District Court judge ruled in favor of a private prison company that plans to use its troubled Leavenworth facility for immigration detention. The city argued CoreCivic should follow local laws first.
