Northwest State Correctional Facility — Primary ICE male detention in VT, 262-bed state prison, $185/day MOU

Primary facility for male ICE detainees in Vermont. Located in Swanton (Franklin County), within the CBP Swanton Sector — the Border Patrol sector covering all of Vermont, parts of New York, and New Hampshire.

Contract Details

Vermont signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with ICE in September 2025, replacing a prior agreement:

Signed: September 4, 2025, by interim Corrections Commissioner Jon Murad
Effective: September 17, 2025
Rate: $185/person/day (Sept 2025–Jul 2026), increasing 3% annually to $208.22
Duration: No expiration date (prior agreement had a fixed term); either party can terminate
Parties: Vermont DOC, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol

Source: VTDigger — Vermont inks new detention agreement with federal immigration authorities

ICE Inspection

ICE conducted an inspection on July 29, 2025: 2025 ICE Inspection Report

Role in Enforcement Pipeline

Workers detained in immigration operations across Vermont are routinely brought here first:

8 dairy farmworkers from Pleasant Valley Farm in Berkshire (April 2025) were booked here between 4–6 a.m. the day after arrest
Construction workers from Hardwick (September 2025) processed here before 7 of 9 were transferred to Louisiana

Key Concerns

Vermont prisons are “increasingly relied upon” for immigration detention (VTDigger, April 2025)
Facility serves as a transit point — detainees often transferred to Louisiana or Texas within days
Half of ICE detainees stay less than 5 days (at Chittenden); similar rapid-cycling pattern likely here
Internal DOC communications reveal “frustrations working with ICE” (VTDigger, June 2025)

Legislative Challenge

H.298 (2025-2026 session) would restrict the Department of Corrections’ cooperation with federal immigration authorities and potentially terminate this MOU.

Sources: