Franklin County Prison Site — Proposed 3,000-bed CoreCivic mega-facility, possible ICE detention

Overview

The Franklin County prison site is an 815-acre property on Highway 215 north of Charleston, Arkansas, purchased by the state for $2.95 million on October 31, 2024. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced it as a 3,000-bed state prison to resolve Arkansas’s prison bed shortage. However, evidence strongly suggests ICE intends to use it — or a portion of it — as a federal immigration detention facility, potentially operated by CoreCivic.

This is one of the most significant proposed detention facilities in the country: if built, a 3,000-bed facility would be among the largest ICE detention centers in existence.

Key Details

The State Prison Plan

Announced: October 31, 2024
Land: 815 acres, purchased for $2.95 million
Planned capacity: 3,000 beds
Estimated cost: Up to $825 million
Employment: ~800 projected jobs
Architect/contractor: HDR Cromwell (approved by Board of Corrections, April 2025)
Funding status: Legislature has NOT approved funding; leaders say votes aren’t there in either chamber; appropriation unlikely in 2026

The ICE Connection

September 22, 2025: Franklin County Chief Deputy Jon Little encountered three ICE agents from the New Orleans office at the site entrance
Joe Profiri — a special adviser to Gov. Sanders and former secretary of the Department of Corrections — arrived minutes later and entered the property with the agents
An ICE agent told Little they were looking at “potentially building a migrant detention facility” at the site
When told construction could take years, the agent said: “No, we can have this up very quickly, we’ll put a temporary one up first”
The Department of Corrections was not informed of the visit; spokesperson Rand Champion said they “became aware of reports of a site visit late Wednesday”

CoreCivic Connection

CoreCivic is reported as the proposed manager of the facility
CoreCivic’s retired CEO Damon Hininger contributed maximum allowable amounts to Governor Sanders’ campaigns
CoreCivic donated substantially to Sanders’ political committee (TeamSHS) and other Arkansas PACs
CoreCivic is the nation’s second-largest private prison company and profits extensively from ICE contracts

Community Opposition

Franklin County Sheriff Johnny Crocker called the prison plan “fiscally irresponsible”
Local residents have “made their opposition to the prison crystal clear”
Concerns cited: lack of infrastructure (workforce, power, water, roads), civil liberties, federal overreach
Community advocates have spent “thousands of hours” investigating the project’s true purpose
For AR People Action is organizing resistance

Timeline

Oct 31, 2024: Governor announces land purchase
Nov 1, 2024: Board of Corrections approves site
April 2025: Board of Corrections approves HDR Cromwell as architect
June 2025: Contract submitted to Arkansas Legislative Council for review
Sept 22, 2025: ICE agents + Joe Profiri spotted at site
Sept 25, 2025: Arkansas Advocate breaks ICE story
Dec 31, 2025: Reports that 2026 will bring new developments
April 2026: Legislative funding still not approved; project status uncertain

Why It Matters

This site represents the convergence of state prison expansion, private prison lobbying, and federal immigration detention. The CoreCivic campaign finance connections, the covert ICE site visit, and the “we can have this up quick” quote suggest a facility that could be rapidly pivoted from state prison to ICE detention — or designed from the start to serve both purposes. At 3,000 beds, it would be a nationally significant detention facility.

Detention Pipeline