LEAVENWORTH, Kansas — This historic Kansas prison town will allow CoreCivic to hold federal immigration detainees after a year of legal wrangling and public outcry from opponents.
Four out of five city commissioners voted to grant CoreCivic’s application for a special use permit. The decision allows the company to operate its dormant 1,000-bed facility as a detention center on behalf of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The compound has sat at the center of a drawn-out legal battle — and furious criticism from opponents of Leavenworth becoming a regional hub for President Trump’s immigration agenda.
Commissioners said they had amended the permit to ensure accountability and transparency, by including plans to form a community review board or task force.
“Tonight’s vote is about a special use permit,” commissioner Holly Pittman said during the meeting. “It is not a vote on federal immigration policy. It is not a vote on national politics. It is not a vote on whether you or I like or dislike CoreCivic.”
Pittman, who was mayor when the latest CoreCivic debate started, said the company prosecuted a smear campaign against her during last year’s legal hornlocking.
Commissioners emphasized the financial benefits they expect the facility to confer, in the form of jobs and impact payments, including a one-time $1 million payment and hundreds of thousands of dollars more each year.
But those concessions weren’t enough for opponents who have been fighting the detention center proposal since it was announced.
“I guess it’s a little harder to accept than I thought,” said Will Rogers, a former CoreCivic staffer who has become one of the company’s most consistent critics, after the vote.
“My heart hurts,” he said.
For the past year, CoreCivic and the city of Leavenworth have been locked in a legal spat over the company’s initial refusal to apply for a permit for the Midwest Regional Reception Center, or MRRC.
After the company faced roadblocks in the courts, it reapplied for a permit — while maintaining that it should not have to do so.
“As we have from the start, CoreCivic remains committed to operating a safe, transparent and accountable facility,” spokesperson Brian Todd said in an email after the decision.
“We look forward to our continued partnership with the city and to the benefits the MRRC will bring to Leavenworth and the surrounding communities,” he said.
Todd did not answer questions about when CoreCivic will begin housing detainees at the facility or how Tuesday’s vote will affect litigation between the company and Leavenworth.
CoreCivic’s 2025 revenue surged 13% from the previous year, totalling $2.2 billion. The company estimates its Leavenworth facility will bring in $60 million per year once it starts fulfilling its federal immigration contract.
Vocal opposition
Well over 100 protesters gathered outside city hall, chanting and waving signs underneath a replica Statue of Liberty. After the vote, a crowd of opponents outside the entrance chanted “Shame!”
“I don't want a concentration camp in Kansas,” said Meg Porteous, a librarian from Topeka. “I'm terrified about the direction the country is heading.”
Public testimony in the meeting was limited to one hour. Many commenters chose to forgo their speaking slot to allow others to share their perspective.
Leavenworth resident Alida Kress said an ICE facility could bring increased immigration enforcement actions, like those that resulted in two deaths in Minnesota, to Kansas.
“At the lowest level, this is a zoning issue,” Kress said. “At the highest, it is an issue of actively putting the lives of our community members in danger.”
CoreCivic employees who spoke in support of the permit application were booed.
“Before joining CoreCivic, my family really struggled,” Charles Johnson, an employee who works at the MRRC with his wife, said. “I see real opportunity for my future here.”
After public comment ended, police officers escorted out two opponents who stood up with signs and began yelling against the imminent vote.
“This oversight committee is a joke, and you all know it,” one man shouted at city leaders before police pulled him out of the room. “It will be your fault when people die at this facility.”
Zane Irwin reports on politics, campaigns and elections for the Kansas News Service. You can email him at zaneirwin@kcur.org.
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