Research Note
Researched
Kansas — Prairie Band Potawatomi Exits $30M ICE Warehouse Design Contract
KS
Overview
The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation — a federally recognized tribe based in Jackson County, Kansas — became embroiled in controversy when its business arm secured a $29.9 million contract with DHS to design warehouse detention centers for ICE. Tribal Chairman Joseph “Zeke” Rupnick publicly fought to cancel the contract, leading to leadership firings and the tribe’s full separation from the project within weeks.
Key Details
- Contractor: KPB Services (subsidiary of Prairie Band LLC, the tribe’s business arm)
- Contract value: $29.9 million (increased by federal government before signing)
- Signed: November 29, 2025
- Duration: One year (end date November 28, 2026)
- Scope: “Due diligence” and “concept design for processing centers and mega centers throughout the United States” — designing warehouse conversions for ICE detention
Timeline of Controversy
- November 29, 2025: Contract signed by KPB Services/Prairie Band LLC leadership
- Early December 2025: Media coverage reveals the contract
- December 10, 2025: Tribal Council fired members of Prairie Band LLC’s leadership
- December 12, 2025: Chairman Rupnick announced intent to cancel contract
- December 15, 2025: Rupnick told media he was “heartbroken” — “We know our Indian reservations were the government’s first attempts at detention centers”
- December 19, 2025: Rupnick confirmed the Nation had “exited” the ICE detention center project and “fully separated” from the contract
Why This Matters
- Tribal sovereignty intersection: A Native American nation’s business arm designing detention infrastructure for a government that once used reservations as detention — a moral paradox the tribal chairman explicitly named
- Mega-center design pipeline: The contract reveals ICE’s systematic plan to convert Amazon-style warehouses into detention centers, with a $30M design budget for nationwide implementation
- Kansas connection: Prairie Band Potawatomi reservation is in Jackson County, Kansas (one of the 287(g) counties); the contract connected Kansas tribal business infrastructure to the national detention expansion
Sources
- KSNT: Prairie Band lands $30M contract for ICE mega centers (Dec 2025)
- Kansas Reflector: Prairie Band intends to ditch $30M ICE contract (Dec 12, 2025)
- KCUR: Kansas tribal leader heartbroken over ICE contract (Dec 14, 2025)
- HPPR: Prairie Band leader says tribe has exited ICE project (Dec 19, 2025)
- Dystopeka: Contract sparks leadership firings (Dec 9, 2025)