The Department of Homeland Security confirmed on Thursday that a prison in Appleton, Minnesota, that had been vacant since 2010 is now operational for Immigration and Customs Enforcement use. The town sits in the western part of the Democrat-led state, roughly 30 miles from the state border with South Dakota.
“The site gives ICE immediate capacity to detain and remove those who have no legal right to remain, protecting American communities and restoring the integrity of our borders without waiting years for new construction,” DHS stated, stressing that the facility would “strengthen America’s ability to enforce its immigration laws and carry out the American people’s mandate for mass deportations.”
“Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe. It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and ensuring we have resources to carry out President Trump’s mission,” the statement added.
Building Capacity.
The Prairie Correctional Facility, which holds 1,600 beds, was owned by Tennessee-based CoreCivic until the federal government purchased it. CoreCivic disclosed a five-year ICE contract in August and subsequently sold the prison to the federal government for nearly $500 million.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) responded by urging Congress, which will come under Democrat control in January following the party’s gains in the midterms, to examine what he described as a “corrupt $420 million prison overpayment,” noting that the state had previously refused to buy the facility for $75 million.
When large numbers of ICE and Border Patrol personnel surged into Minnesota late last year, following viral reporting on endemic fraud linked to the state’s large Somali community, many of those detained were initially held at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis before transfer out of state. The surge, known as Operation Metro Surge, produced strong pushback from Democrat state officials and pro-illegal immigrant activists, culminating in the fatal shooting of anti-ICE agitators Alex Pretti and Renee Good in January.
Immigration enforcement efforts in the state scaled back following these incidents, but there may be a renewed focus on deportations nationally with the elevation of Stephen Miller to White House Chief of Staff following the midterms, given his famously hawkish stance on the issue.
