Immigrant detainees begin arriving at former prison in rural Tennessee
town
[September 12, 2025]
By ADRIAN SAINZ
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.
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The CoreCivic West Tennessee Detention Facility is seen Jan. 24,
2024, in Mason, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
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.
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