By Morgan Chilson, Kansas Reflector
LEAVENWORTH — Protesters chanted around city hall Tuesday evening to advocate against reopening CoreCivic’s private prison to house immigration detainees, and city commissioners carried their frustrations with the company to proceedings.
Leavenworth City commissioners chastised company officials for the business’s past behavior at the first consideration of CoreCivic’s request for a special use permit to reopen its facility as the Midwest Regional Reception Center.
They ultimately approved moving the application forward for a second consideration on March 10.
Smacking a photo on the commission desk of a social media ad that ran during the court fight between the city and CoreCivic last year, Commissioner Holly Pittman said “not being a community partner” caused problems.
“Last year, you guys put me through hell, political hell,” she told three CoreCivic spokespeople, who stood silently behind the lectern. “You guys paid for these ads that drug my name through the mud and I didn’t appreciate it. I want to be good partners and I want to make this happen.”
Pittman proposed adding a section to the permit requiring creation of a community oversight committee that would include CoreCivic representatives, Leavenworth police, local pastors and others to get regular reports on what was happening at the facility.
The five-member commission agreed with Pittman’s amendment and moved the permit application to the next step in the process, with one dissenting vote from Mayor Pro Tem Rebecca Hollister.
On March 10, the commission could hold a final vote or remand the permit back to the planning commission for reconsideration.
Pittman said on Wednesday that her vote was “hard.”
“I want to be clear. I’m not supportive of ICE operations and I’ve been outspoken about CoreCivic because they have had a terrible past here in Leavenworth,” she said.
But Pittman said she is concerned denying the permit violates property rights laws and could set Leavenworth up for a lawsuit.
“I think the financial consequences could have bankrupted our city,” she said. “I’ve spent more than a year fighting this proposal because I wanted them to fill out the special use permit because that’s what our city ordinance required them to do,” she said. “At the end of the day, they did that.”
Pittman also said the oversight committee gives Leavenworth a voice. She has been concerned the Department of Homeland Security could step in to run the facility.
“Last night for me was not a vote of approval,” Pittman said. “It was a vote to protect the city of Leavenworth from financial devastation and basically loss of control of the facility.”
More than 60 people spoke during a three-hour public comment session, begging commissioners not to allow the facility to reopen. More than 10 people spoke in favor of the prison facility, sharing economic advantages the Nashville-based prison company brings to their family with good jobs.
They also pointed to extensive training they’ve received from CoreCivic.
“I applied because CoreCivic offered fair pay, solid benefits and the opportunity to build a stable career without commuting long distances just to earn a livable wage,” said Michelle Bridges, who joined CoreCivic eight months ago as a mail room clerk. She said training emphasizes safety, respect and professionalism.
Those testifying in opposition often cited past issues with CoreCivic, including problems with maintaining a full staff, which resulted in a district court judge calling the facility a “hell hole.” Occasional outbursts of “he’s lying” — targeted at ICE officer Shawn Byers who said all immigrants in ICE custody receive due process — and other phrases peppered the meeting.
Two people were ejected for muttering or yelling during public input and more than 80 people gathered in the hallway to watch on a monitor booed people who favored CoreCivic.
“I bring to you tonight the wisdom of my 82-year-old mother, who imbued me with West Texas commonsense. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me,” said Jenny Wooten, who asked the commission to oppose the permit.
Many spoke of CoreCivic’s contract with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to house detainees and their moral opposition to what is happening to immigrants nationwide. In a previous public hearing before the Leavenworth Planning Commission, input was focused only on the permit and they weren’t allowed to talk about ICE or immigration.
Former Marine and Vietnam veteran Ron Jacobson told the commission his opposition to CoreCivic is about much more than economics.
“Without due process, we have nothing,” he said. “Even the Japanese internment camps of the second World War weren’t this bad. Right now, people are — their rights are being trounced on. If you stand on American soil, me and people like me will stand up and say you have a right to see your accuser and you have a right to keep your family together.”
CoreCivic officials in attendance answered questions and talked about how communication problems between the city and CoreCivic in the past would be better. Spokesperson John Malloy said a liaison will work directly with the Leavenworth police, which had extensive problems with the facility before it closed in 2021.
In court documents and in discussions about the SUP, Leavenworth chief of police Pat Kitchens said they previously weren’t allowed to access crime scenes or crimes weren’t reported until days later.
“Hearing the comments from Chief Kitchens was hard to hear, frankly,” Malloy said. “We’ve had a lot of conversations about how to rectify the communication problem previously.”
Hollister, the sole commission member to vote against the permit on first consideration, struggled to find a way to address her concerns, at one point leaving the meeting to take a short break. Although Hollister said she agreed with the amendment to add a community oversight group, she had other amendments she wanted to propose but never shared them.
She told company officials that she struggled to “validate” their credibility in saying things would be different as she looked at issues in other CoreCivic facilities nationwide.
“How should we judge you on your credibility if it’s not with the past, if it’s not with Trousdale (Turner Correctional Facility in Tennessee) or some of the other facilities?” she asked them.
An official said the company is complying with American Correctional Association standards and encouraged Hollister to look at their audits on the Department of Homeland Security.
CoreCivic and the city are still meeting in court, even as the special use permit progresses. In February, the company asked a Kansas Appeals court to overturn an injunction that bans them from taking prisoners immediately. At the hearing, it was noted that approval of a special use permit would make the case moot.
If the city denies the special use permit, CoreCivic can appeal to district court.
