Immigrant detainees begin arriving at former prison in rural Tennessee town

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Immigrant detainees have started arriving at a former Tennessee prison that’s been turned into a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center, the facility’s operator said.

CoreCivic Inc. said late Wednesday that it has begun receiving detainees at the West Tennessee Detention Facility in the rural town of Mason, located about 40 miles (60 kilometers) northeast of Memphis.

The arrivals come after Mason officials approved agreements with ICE and CoreCivic on Aug. 12, despite loud objections from upset residents and activists during a contentious public meeting.

For years, the prison served as an important economic engine for Mason. It was closed in 2021 after President Joe Biden ordered the U.S. Department of Justice to stop renewing contracts with certain detention facilities. President Donald Trump reversed that order in January.

The contracts were approved amid a push by Trump for mass deportations of immigrants. Trump has touted a detention facility in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” where allegations of mistreatment of detainees have drawn lawsuits from civil rights advocates and environmental groups.

Opponents of the Tennessee detention center, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, have expressed concerns that detainees could be subjected to 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.