WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration has spent about $2.2 billion buying four privately owned immigration detention centers, shifting the facilities into federal hands while allowing the same companies to continue operating them under lucrative contracts.
Over the past two months, the Department of Homeland Security purchased CoreCivic facilities in California City and San Diego, California, along with detention centers in Appleton, Minnesota, and Leavenworth, Kansas. CoreCivic says the sales increased its cash holdings from $109 million to roughly $1.1 billion.
The company will continue managing at least some of the properties. Its newly purchased 1,600-bed Minnesota facility comes with a five-year operations contract expected to generate about $75 million annually.
GEO Group, ICE’s other major private detention contractor, is negotiating similar property sales while seeking to retain long-term management contracts.
The ownership change could have another consequence: weakening state and local oversight. California officials have used state laws to inspect detention centers and challenge conditions, while Leavenworth negotiated local safeguards before CoreCivic sold its facility to DHS without advance notice to city leaders. Federal ownership may make those requirements harder to enforce.
DHS has openly cited resistance from Democratic-led states as one reason for purchasing facilities directly. Immigration advocates argue the arrangement gives private prison companies a large cash windfall while helping the federal government insulate detention operations from local scrutiny.
Sources:
Discover more from News Facts Network
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
