CoreCivic Leavenworth Detention Center — Leavenworth, KS

The Leavenworth city commission voted 4-1 on March 10, 2026, to grant CoreCivic a special use permit to reopen a 1,000-bed facility as the Midwest Regional Reception Center for ICE detainees, despite 42 residents speaking against it and only three in favor during public comment. The facility has a troubled history, including a 2017 Inspector General audit citing chronic understaffing, a $1.45 million settlement with 539 detainees over illegal attorney-client recordings, and a federal judge's 2021 description of it as "an absolute hell hole."