LEAVENWORTH, Kansas — The Leavenworth City Commission voted unanimously on Tuesday for a resolution that says a private prison operator must get permission before reopening its facility in the city.
The resolution doesn’t carry legal weight, but it's the city’s first formal move to place a check on CoreCivic after the company announced plans to operate as a federal immigration detention center.
“Yes, CoreCivic needs a special use permit to open their facility in Leavenworth. And they have to abide by our ordinances,” Leavenworth Mayor Holly Pittman said in an interview after the meeting.
Pittman said she couldn’t confirm whether the city would file suit against the company if it reopens without approval. In their resolution, the Leavenworth commissioners reserved the right to take any necessary legal action to uphold it.
CoreCivic, formerly Corrections Corporation of America, is one of the largest private prison operators in the country. It has said it intends to contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to hold up to 1,000 noncitizen detainees from around the region at the facility.
The Midwest Regional Reception Center, as the company’s Leavenworth facility is called, ceased operations at the end of 2021 after its contract as a maximum-security prison expired.
That came in the wake of scathing reports of mismanagement, understaffing and dangerous conditions for inmates and staff.
After the reopening announcement drew backlash, CoreCivic withdrew its request for a special use permit from the city — and implied it never needed one in the first place.
That process would have involved multiple public hearings, the first of which was scheduled for early April.
In Tuesday’s resolution, commissioners argued that city ordinances require CoreCivic to obtain a special use permit to reopen, because it has not served as a detention center in over three years.
But in an email to the Kansas News Service, CoreCivic spokesperson Ryan Gustin said the company has continually employed people at the facility for maintenance purposes, even after it stopped operating as a detention center.
“CoreCivic has maintained a long relationship in the Leavenworth community, spanning over 30 years, serving our federal partners while also being a positive business and community partner,” he said
‘When will CoreCivic see you in court?’
Advocates, community members and former corrections staff at the facility took turns at the lectern urging commissioners to oppose the company’s plans.
Marcia Levering, a former CoreCivic employee, drove three hours to attend Tuesday’s meeting. She said understaffing at the facility caused an assault in 2021 where a door that was mistakenly left open allowed an inmate to throw boiling water in her face.
Levering fought tears as she recounted her experience.
“He was kicking, stabbing me and punching me. I was stabbed four times. Once in my right ear, hence the paralysis. Once in my right arm and twice in my abdomen,” she said.
Four years and 16 surgeries later, Levering walks with a cane, and the right side of her face is paralyzed.
Amid a wave of public scrutiny in 2021, a spokesperson for CoreCivic told NPR that independent monitors were allowed to inspect facility conditions. They have since told KCTV5 that potential future operations will not take place “without direct, onsite oversight from our government partners.”
One man, who identified himself only as Rick from Lansing, told the commission that CoreCivic’s decision not to request a special use permit was a way to evade public scrutiny.
“They're doing what they wanted to do anyway: bypass the democratic process and open the facility faster so they can print money,” he said.
“When will CoreCivic see you in court?” he asked.
Zane Irwin reports on politics, campaigns and elections for the Kansas News Service. You can email him at zaneirwin@kcur.org.
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