ICE increases detention capacity in Southern Nevada
Immigration and Customs Enforcement increased its capacity in Southern Nevada and three other states for people in the federal agency’s custody.
CoreCivic, a company that operates private prisons and detention centers across the U.S., announced contract modifications with ICE late last month.
One amended agreement adds up to 784 beds that ICE can use to hold detainees at three CoreCivic facilities, including at the Nevada Southern Detention Center in Pahrump. Two other facilities are in Ohio and Oklahoma, while a fourth in Mississippi will allow ICE to use up to 252 beds under a separate agreement, according to the company.
Details on the terms or the distribution of the new beds were not available, and a CoreCivic representative deferred to ICE when reached for comment Tuesday.
“We have an extensive supply of available beds that provides our government partners the flexibility to satisfy their immediate and long-term needs in a cost-effective manner,” wrote CoreCivic’s CEO Damon Hininger in a Feb. 27 news release.
He added: “We are entering a period where our government partners, particularly our federal government partners, are expected to have increased demand. We anticipate additional contracting activity that will help satisfy their growing needs.”
The agreement to increase capacity arrived as President Donald Trump’s administration attempts to fulfill his campaign promise of mass deportations.
ICE said Wednesday that enforcement has resulted “in a significant number of arrests of criminal aliens that require greater detention capacity,” according to a statement. “While we cannot confirm individual pre-decisional conversations, we can confirm that ICE is exploring all options to meet its current and future detention requirements.”
Southern Nevada facility
Under an intergovernmental contract with the U.S. Marshals Service, the Nevada Southern Detention Center houses about 800 inmates, according to CoreCivic.
The 1,072-bed facility has also housed regional ICE inmates since 2016, according to the federal government. ICE didn’t respond to a question seeking comment about the migrant population at the Nevada Southern Detention Center.
A unannounced inspection by ICE almost a year ago deemed the Pahrump facility as compliant with three administrative “deficiencies.”
None of the nearly 40 inmates who agreed to be interviewed alleged “discrimination, mistreatment or abuse,” and they said they were “satisfied” with the services, according to the report.
‘Request for information’
ICE last year — before Trump was re-elected — issued a request for information from private jails.
CoreCivic responded in June to the “Multi State Detention Facility Support” request for its Nevada Southern Detention Center and the California City Correctional Center.
The American Civil Liberties Union in December unveiled the correspondence between ICE, CoreCivic, GEO Group and MTC Corporation it obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
“The ACLU’s investigation into ICE’s plans reveals a dangerous push to expand immigration detention facilities across the country, including here in Nevada,” said Athar Haseebullah, executive director of the union’s Nevada chapter, wrote at the time. “Expanding ICE presence in Nevada will tear families apart, erode trust in law enforcement and make Nevada less safe.”
An Emerson College Poll about Trump’s first 50 days in office showed that 48 percent supported his immigration policies, 40 percent opposed and 12 percent were neutral.
A spokesperson for CoreCivic said in December that the facilities have a “significant amount of oversight and accountability.”
Ryan Gustin added: “Our responsibility is to care for each person respectfully and humanely while they receive the legal due process that they are entitled to.”
Officials have been tight-lipped about how immigration enforcement is playing out in Southern Nevada since Trump took office in January.
The Metropolitan Police Department has an informal agreement with ICE at the Clark County Detention Center, which limits enforcement collaboration at the jail. Henderson police have a contract to hold ICE detainees at the city’s jail.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is the only jurisdiction in Nevada with a formal agreement with ICE, but it, too, is limited to the jail.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.
