ICE Detention Facility Opens In Former West Tennessee Prison

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The Tennessee Conservative Staff –

Illegal aliens have begun to arrive at a former West Tennessee prison that has recently been reopened as a detention facility for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The West Tennessee Detention Center, located in Mason, is run by CoreCivic, Inc. The company announced on Wednesday that detainees have been moved to the facility.

“We have begun receiving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees at our West Tennessee Detention Facility (WTDF) in response to an immediate need from the federal government for safe, humane and appropriate housing and care for these individuals,” CoreCivic said in a statement.

Local residents debated the reopening with Mason officials, but town administrators ultimately reached an agreement with ICE.

The prison had previously provided for a number of jobs in the area, until its closing in 2021. Mayor Eddie Noeman stated that the reopened facility will once again provide economic opportunities that have been lacking for the town. 

Noeman says approximately 25 detainees have already arrived. He estimates that it will take about two weeks for new hires to be trained and for the facility to be fully operational.

It is expected that the ICE facility will make around 240 new jobs available for local residents. CoreCivic has stated that starting pay for detention officers will be $26.50 per hour. The town will also receive a $200,000 annual fee, as well as an estimated $325,000 in property tax revenue each year.

Residents who opposed the reopening expressed concern that the facility could potentially become a place of abuse and neglect towards detainees. They noted that CoreCivic has been fined more than $44 million since 2022 for violations at four prisons across the state, including the deaths of at least 22 inmates.