Prison facilities encountering significant issues to shut down temporarily, planning for transformation into migrant detainment units.
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Typically, zoning regulations, permits, and fire codes are rather mundane aspects of city management. But in the Trump administration's quest for more migrant detention space, these rules have become a secret weapon for cities trying to evade reopening problematic prisons to house individuals awaiting deportation. Zane Irwin of the Kansas News Service sheds light on this from Leavenworth, Kansas.
(SOUNDBITE OF FOOTSTEPS)
ZANE IRWIN, REPORTING: William Rogers, a former corrections officer in Leavenworth,Kansas, leads us through a deserted, fenced-in area that once housed a private prison. Five years ago, he worked here, and he points us to a concrete building perched behind a formidable barbed wire fence. Rogers recalls a harrowing incident when an inmate brutally attacked him with a metal lunch tray back in 2018.
"When he hit me in the back of the head, I mean, it hurt, but I didn't realize it was split open until later," Rogers said. "At that point, you just gotta fight."
The private prison operator, CoreCivic, shut down that facility in 2021, following a 2017 report by the Justice Department Office of the Inspector General that detailed dangerous levels of understaffing at the prison. Marcia Levering, a former employee, shares her experiences during a local public hearing:
"Murders, assaults, poor living conditions, and some units had half of their cell doors compromised," Levering explained.
In response, CoreCivic asserted that allegations of unsafe conditions at the prison were unfounded, attributing them to isolated incidents within a limited timeframe.
(SOUNDBITE OF CONSTRUCTION VEHICLE REVERSING)
ZANE IRWIN, REPORTING: Today, construction is underway to restart the old prison complex for the purpose of housing a thousand immigrant detainees from across the country. This move comes as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) aims to double national detention capacity to 100,000 beds, largely through contracts with private prison companies.
Leavenworth isn't the only prison with a troubled past that's being given new life as an immigrant detention center. Prisons like the Etowah County Detention Center in Alabama, the Delaney Hall facility in New Jersey, and FCI Dublin in the Bay Area face concerns from immigrant rights advocates who fear the rushed expansion of detention facilities may jeopardize the well-being of detainees.
Eunice Cho, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), addresses these worries:
"We've seen people in overcrowded detention facilities receiving no medical support, no food, and no water at times," Cho said.
The city of Leavenworth, however, is taking legal action against CoreCivic over the reopening of the Kansas prison. Officials argue that CoreCivic is attempting to skirt local zoning rules by bypassing the application process for a special use permit, which requires approval from the city council. A similar legal battle is brewing in Newark, New Jersey, where officials are trying to block the opening of a 1,000-bed detention center run by GEO Group.
The legal wrangling between local governments and private prison operators can lead to fractures within communities, as demonstrated by the ongoing disputes in Kansas and New Jersey. Nevertheless, local governments' authority to enforce their zoning laws may represent their most potent weapon against ICE detention efforts, according to David S. Rubenstein, a professor at Washburn University in Topeka.
"Zoning objections aren't specifically aimed at immigration detention. They're being used more like a legal tool to stall progress," Rubenstein observed.
As local battles wage on, Congress debates the Trump administration's budget proposal, which requests a significant boost of 65% for the Department of Homeland Security. Even if DHS receives all of that funding, it may still encounter local hurdles when trying to open new migrant detention facilities.
For NPR News, I'm Zane Irwin in Leavenworth.
This transcript is a creative reinterpretation of the original NPR transcript, intended to provide a fresh perspective while maintaining its core themes and key points.
- The reopening of problematic prisons to house individuals awaiting deportation has become a strategy for cities to evade doing so, skirting zoning regulations and permits.
- In Leavenworth, Kansas, the government is taking legal action against CoreCivic over the reopening of a private prison, contending that the company is bypassing the application process for a special use permit.
- The general news highlights the risks associated with the rushed expansion of immigrant detention facilities, as seen in the cases of Leavenworth, Etowah County Detention Center in Alabama, Delaney Hall facility in New Jersey, and FCI Dublin in the Bay Area.
- Eunice Cho, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), raises concerns over the treatment of inmates in overcrowded detention facilities, citing instances of lack of medical support, food, and water.
- The Trump administration's budget proposal requests a significant increase of 65% for the Department of Homeland Security, but even with this funding, local hurdles may prevent the opening of new migrant detention facilities.
