ICE, CoreCivic to open Appleton immigrant detention center this year

ICE will pay CoreCivic more than $536 million over five years to reopen the defunct 1,600-bed Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, in rural western Minnesota, as the state's first dedicated immigrant detention center, the Minnesota Reformer reported. CoreCivic said it expects to begin receiving detainees in the fourth quarter of 2026 and projects roughly $75 million in annual revenue. Minnesota has until now housed ICE detainees in local jails or shipped them out of state, most often to Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas; the acquisition comes as the average daily population in ICE and Border Patrol custody surpassed 65,600 in July, up from 39,000 when President Trump took office, according to agency data.