Former West Tennessee prison to become new privately run ICE detention center
This story is a collaboration between the Institute for Public Service Reporting and WKNO-FM public radio.
MASON, Tennessee — Mayor Eddie Noeman and the Mason Board of Aldermen approved a pair of contracts Tuesday that will allow U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to open a large immigration detention center in this town of 1,300 people about 45 miles northeast of Memphis.
The contracts involving ICE, the town of Mason, and private, for-profit prison firm opens in a new windowCoreCivic allow officials to re-open a former prison as a 600-bed detention facility housing individuals detained by ICE.
During Tuesday night’s meeting, Mason residents and community members from nearby cities gathered at the town’s fire station to voice their opinions on re-opening of the prison. Many in attendance opposed the plan, holding signs reading “PRISON WITHOUT DUE PROCESS IS A CONCENTRATION CAMP,” and “ICE IS THE NEW GESTAPO.”
Mayor Noeman told the gathering that the facility is not part of an anti-immigrant movement. He focused instead on economic development concerns, saying the decision hinged on rebuilding the town and generating high-paying jobs starting at $26 per hour.
Mason resident Civil Miller-Watkins countered by saying that working for CoreCivic is not the type of career she envisions for her high school son: “This is not the job I want him to be able to have.”
The vacant prison, formally known as the West Tennessee Detention Facility, closed in 2021 after President Joe Biden’s executive order to opens in a new windoweliminate privately run criminal detention facilities.
Although the voting results created confusion among the crowd, city officials confirmed that both contracts were approved.
After the meeting, CoreCivic sent out a statement thanking city leaders: “We are grateful to the City of Mason, Mayor Eddie Noeman and the Board of Alderman members for supporting our opportunity to serve and meet the needs of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at our West Tennessee Detention Facility opens in a new window(WTDF).”
It is unclear when the facility will become operational.
