A judge once called Leavenworth’s federal prison a ‘hell hole.’ CoreCivic will get $4.2 million per month to reopen the long-shuttered facility to hold thousands of migrants arrested by ICE

A judge has halted CoreCivic, on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, from housing immigrants facing possible deportation in a shuttered facility that the private prison operator now calls the Midwest Regional Reception Center, in Leavenworth, Kan., pictured Monday, March 3, 2025, unless it can get a permit from frustrated city officials.

Nick Ingram—AP Photo