Midwest Regional Reception Center — Leavenworth KS (CoreCivic) · KS · 1,033 beds (permit cap 1,104) · CoreCivic

Overview

ICE awarded CoreCivic a six-month no-bid contract to reactivate a 1,033-bed former federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas as a Midwest Regional Reception Center for ICE detainees. After a year of legal wrangling and intense community opposition, the Leavenworth City Commission voted 4-1 on March 10, 2026 to grant CoreCivic a special use permit, clearing the way for the facility to open.

Key Details

Capacity: 1,033 beds (permit cap of 1,104 detainees)
Operator: CoreCivic
Contract type: Six-month no-bid contract, three-year initial term
Estimated annual revenue: $60 million (CoreCivic estimate)
Community payments: One-time $1 million payment to city + hundreds of thousands annually
Jobs: ~300 new positions, starting salary $28.25/hour
Status: Operational — opened mid-March 2026; ramping to capacity slowly

Now Operating, Well Below Capacity (May 2026)

The facility opened in the weeks after the March 10 permit approval. As of the May 2026 Community Relations Advisory Board meeting, the Midwest Regional Reception Center held 249 people, including 59 women — roughly 240 detainees about two months after opening, far short of the 1,104-detainee permit cap. Warden Misty Mackey said CoreCivic expected to reach capacity “slowly” and acknowledged the ramp was “a little behind schedule.” The warden reported limited medical issues, five in-house virtual courtrooms, regular religious services, and ~50 visitors weekly (exceeding expectations).

The slow ramp tracks with Judge Lungstrum’s habeas releases and Kansas’s broader detention bottleneck rather than slackening enforcement — see kansas-lungstrum-zadvydas-habeas-releases.

Community Board Oversight

A 14-member CoreCivic Community Relations Advisory Board (city officials, religious leaders, the warden, other professionals) was created as a permit condition. City Manager Scott Peterson stressed it is advisory only — “not an enforcement board” — with enforcement authority remaining with the city. Meetings are public, held the fourth Tuesday of each month at 2 p.m. (next: May 26, 2026).

Due-Process Concern Raised

At the May board meeting, immigration attorney Michael Sharma-Crawford flagged that detainees “have no way to look at the charges… no way to formulate a defense” — a charging-document access gap affecting detainees regionally. Facility leadership attributed the gap to federal immigration officials; ICE asserted all detainees had received charging documents.

Continued Opposition

Activists (Northland Neighbors United organizer Lauren Boyer, DACA recipient “Selene,” former corrections officer Bryson Ripley) held vigils May 25-26, 2026, citing oversight gaps, detainee treatment, and distrust of CoreCivic’s institutional culture: “There are 240 people locked up here only two months after it’s opened.”

Timeline

2021: CoreCivic closed the Leavenworth prison after losing federal contracts
2025: CoreCivic secured new ICE contract to reopen as Midwest Regional Reception Center
June 4, 2025: Leavenworth County District Court judge temporarily blocked CoreCivic from housing detainees, ruling a special use permit was required
December 8, 2025: CoreCivic changed course, applied for special use permit
February 2, 2026: Leavenworth Planning Commission voted 5-1 to recommend approval
February 11, 2026: Over 100 protesters gathered outside city hall
February 25, 2026: Opponents made final push at public hearing; 42 spoke against, only 3 in favor; 2 arrested, others ejected
March 10, 2026: City Commission voted 4-1 to grant permit with conditions including community review board

Zoning Fight

The city argued the reopening required a special-use permit under zoning rules adopted in 2012, triggering months of litigation before the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled CoreCivic must obtain city approval. Despite overwhelming public opposition at hearings, commissioners voted to approve, citing financial benefits. Commissioner Pittman stated: “Tonight’s vote is about a special use permit. It is not a vote on federal immigration policy.”

Permit conditions include formation of a community review board for accountability and transparency. CoreCivic has not disclosed when operations would begin; ongoing litigation between the company and city may still affect timeline.

Regional Significance

Leavenworth is positioned as a Midwest regional hub for ICE detention. With the KC mega-center warehouse blocked (see kansas-city-mo-platform-ventures) and Chase County’s 148-bed jail overwhelmed, this 1,033-bed facility becomes the primary large-scale detention capacity in the Kansas City metro area.

Detention Pipeline

Midwest Regional Reception Center — Leavenworth KS (CoreCivic)