Immigrant detainees have begun arriving at a repurposed Tennessee facility that now serves as a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center, according to the facility’s operator.
CoreCivic Inc. announced on Wednesday that detainees have been received at the West Tennessee Detention Facility, situated in the rural town of Mason, approximately 40 miles northeast of Memphis.
This development follows the Mason officials’ approval of agreements with ICE and CoreCivic on August 12, despite significant opposition from concerned residents and activists during a heated public meeting.
For years, the prison was a vital economic driver for Mason. It closed in 2021 after President Joe Biden directed the U.S. Department of Justice to cease renewing contracts with certain detention facilities—a decision reversed by President Donald Trump in January.
The contracts align with Trump’s push for heightened deportations of immigrants. Trump has highlighted a Florida detention facility called “Alligator Alcatraz,” which has faced lawsuits from civil rights advocates and environmental groups over alleged mistreatment of detainees.
Critics of the Tennessee detention center, including the American Civil Liberties Union, have raised concerns that detainees could suffer from abuse and neglect.
Mason Mayor Eddie Noeman has said the ICE facility will bring jobs and economic development to the town, which has struggled with financial problems and needs infrastructure improvements.
The ICE facility is expected to create nearly 240 new jobs, including positions for detention officers at a pay rate of $26.50 per hour, according to CoreCivic. The facility would also generate about $325,000 in annual property tax revenue and $200,000 in an annual fee for Mason that could be used for schools, infrastructure improvements and other projects, the company has said.
In 2022, Mason reached a deal with the state of Tennessee after it attempted to take over the city’s finances following years of alleged mismanagement. Some members of the public who spoke at the August meeting said Mason is a majority-Black town with a history of being ignored and treated with disrespect.
Tennessee’s corrections agency has fined CoreCivic $44.7 million across four prisons for violations from 2022 through February, including for understaffing. Records obtained by AP also show the company has spent more than $4.4 million to settle about 80 lawsuits and out-of-court complaints alleging mistreatment — including at least 22 inmate deaths — at four Tennessee prisons and two jails from 2016 through September 2024.
The state comptroller released scathing audits on the company in 2017, 2020 and 2023.
The Brentwood, Tennessee-based company has defended itself by pointing to problems in the industry with hiring and keeping workers.
