Tennessee Town Clears Way for ICE to Reopen Private Prison

Officials in Mason, Tennessee, have approved contracts that will allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement to reopen the West Tennessee Detention Facility, a prison shuttered in 2021 after President Joe Biden barred the Justice Department from renewing agreements with private operators. The site will again be run by CoreCivic, one of the largest U.S. prison contractors, after the town’s board voted late on 12 August to partner with the company despite vocal opposition from residents. The decision follows President Donald Trump’s 20 January order rescinding Biden’s ban and comes as his administration pursues additional capacity for immigration detention across the country. Mason’s mayor, Eddie Noeman, argued the project will bring jobs to the community of about 1,300 people, which has a median household income of roughly $47,000. Demonstrators at the public meeting criticized the plan, citing CoreCivic’s record of understaffing and safety lapses. CoreCivic facilities have accumulated $44.7 million in fines since 2022, and documents reviewed by the Associated Press show the company spent $4.4 million to resolve around 80 lawsuits involving alleged mistreatment, including 22 inmate deaths. The Mason project aligns with other recent ICE expansions, including a planned facility at Fort Bliss, Texas, and state-level partnerships in Florida and Indiana aimed at detaining a larger number of undocumented migrants.