Appleton’s private prison posted job openings for warden and security positions this week as the federal government continues to eye the facility for immigration detention.
Although prison owner CoreCivic hasn’t finalized a contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the company was named by the agency Thursday in a post seeking a contractor to take detainees from Fort Snelling.
“ICE intends to procure these detention services,” the posting stated. “Core Civic is the sole owner and operator of the Prairie detention facility that meets ICE requirements in the timeframe.”
Related: For some in this western Minnesota city, an ICE detention center would bring economic promise — and moral compromise
Closed since 2010, the 1,600-bed Prairie Correctional Facility has long been a candidate to support the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement goals. Job postings and the contract solicitation mark the most concrete steps toward it becoming reality.
CoreCivic posted positions for assistant warden, chief of security and chief of unit management. A spokesperson for the company confirmed that the company is looking to “build a potential applicant pool, should the facility become operational at some point in the future.”
On Friday afternoon, the job postings had been removed from CoreCivic’s website.
“CoreCivic continues to market our Prairie Correctional Facility (PCF) and explore opportunities with our government partners for which this site could be a viable solution,” stated Ryan Gustin in an email. “We have continued to take steps to ensure the facility is properly maintained. There are no other updates or announcements to provide at this time.”
He added that “out of respect for government officials who may have visited or expressed interest in the facility, we suggest that you contact those agencies directly.”
The point person identified on the government posting didn’t immediately respond to an email. MinnPost also reached out to a DHS spokesperson and hasn’t received a response.
Appleton’s prison was once the largest employer in the Swift County city. The city’s population swelled when it was open and dropped precipitously when it closed.
Outside of seeing occasional activity at the prison, Appleton’s city administrator, John Olinger, didn’t know of firming up plans for the site. As a private prison, the city doesn’t control its usage other than ensuring it is appropriately zoned.
“The last I heard was things had slowed down because at the federal level there was a lot of change up in the leadership,” he said.
Related: ICE eyes shuttered Appleton prison as it plans massive expansion of immigrant detention centers
The Trump administration ousted DHS Secretary Kristi Noem in March. She had overseen Operation Metro Surge, a targeted enforcement push against the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
As the Trump administration scaled up arrests and deportations, CoreCivic positioned itself to be ready to reopen the prison in Appleton. The company has 30 contracts related to immigration detention across the country, including a Dilley, Tex., prison where Minnesotans have been transported after arrest.
CURE, a Montevideo-based nonprofit, released a statement expressing disappointment and alarm at plans to reopen the prison as an ICE detention center. It called on ICE to halt plans, or for local and state officials to intervene against it.
“We saw this winter how ICE and its detention network are being used to systematically deprive people of their rights, often without regard to legal status,” the statement read. “The Trump administration’s push for a vast private prison network erodes our democracy. We do not want the Appleton prison to become part of the ICE machine.”
The facility would strain local housing, health care, public safety and other city and county resources, according to CURE.
“Rural communities should not be left to manage the fallout of federal detention expansion while private prison corporations garner all the benefits for their investors,” it stated.
Washington correspondent Ana Radelat contributed to this report.
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