Home/ Facilities/ CNMI Department of Corrections (Susupe, Saipan) — sole ICE contract detention site in the Northern Mariana Islands
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CNMI Department of Corrections (Susupe, Saipan) — sole ICE contract detention site in the Northern Mariana Islands

Saipan Municipality, MP FIPS 69110
~20 ICE beds within the larger DOC (avg. daily ~18-21 total; ~11 ICE in early 2026)
Bed capacity
Operator: CNMI Department of Corrections (Commonwealth government)

Overview

The CNMI Department of Corrections (DOC) in Susupe, Saipan is the only ICE detention facility in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the only contract detention site in the territory. It is a Commonwealth-government jail (the Vincente Taman Seman building) that holds local pretrial detainees and sentenced inmates alongside a small number of ICE administrative detainees. ICE’s San Francisco Field Office holds custodial authority; the local ICE/ERO presence is the Saipan ERO Sub-Office, (670) 237-6000.

This is a coverage gap in the detention pipeline — CNMI had no prior KB entry — and it is a genuinely small operation: ICE has explicitly said it has no plans to build a dedicated detention center in the CNMI. People held by ICE longer than ~12 hours are transferred to this DOC facility in Susupe rather than to any standalone ICE site.

Facility Details

  • Operator: CNMI Department of Corrections (governmental); ICE custodial authority via San Francisco Field Office
  • Location: Vincente Taman Seman building, Susupe, Saipan; P.O. Box 506506, Saipan, MP 96950
  • ICE bed space: ~20 beds set aside for ICE under the intergovernmental agreement
  • Population (Vera/locator data, 2026): average daily ~18-21, average length of stay ~40 days; up from ~4/day in 2022
  • ICE detainees (early 2026): ~11, per DOC Commissioner Anthony Torres
  • Contract: Intergovernmental agreement between CNMI DOC and DHS, effective April 20, 2011, covering bed space, intake/discharge, basic needs, medical, transportation, financial liability, and office space for ICE officials at the Saipan facility
  • Classification: county jail / dual-use criminal + ICE administrative detention
  • History: Began holding migrant detainees during the 2009-onward federalization; ceased migrant detention ~2013; resumed amid the post-2025 national enforcement surge

Why It Matters

This is the federal immigration detention chokepoint for an entire U.S. commonwealth with a uniquely large guest-worker (CW-1) and tourist population. Even at single-digit-to-low-double-digit ICE headcounts, it is the only place in the CNMI where ICE detainees are held, and its average daily population roughly quintupled from 2022 (~4) to 2026 (~18-21) as national detention hit record highs (>73,400 nationwide on a single day in mid-January 2026). The same facility was the subject of a June 2025 CNMI Advisory Committee (USCCR) report on healthcare access in the territory’s justice system, raising standing concerns about conditions in a remote, single-jail jurisdiction.

CNMI Immigration Context (do not apply mainland assumptions)

The CNMI controlled its own immigration until the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (CNRA) extended most U.S. immigration law to the islands; the transition period (begun Nov. 28, 2009) now runs through Dec. 31, 2029. A CNMI-only transitional worker visa (CW-1) supports the labor force, with the cap shrinking to 8,000 (FY2026) and 5,000 (FY2029) before the program sunsets. ICE/CBP/HSI presence in the islands is tied to this transition and to the Marianas’ role as an Asia-facing transit point (see the overview note and the HSI Mariana Islands BEST task force).

Known Detainee Cases (2025-2026)

  • George Delos Santos (Philippines): arrested by ICE on Aug. 27, 2025; a convicted child sex offender (30-year CNMI sentence), held at CNMI DOC pending removal.
  • Lijie Cui: arrested Jan. 13, 2026 for allegedly overstaying an E-2C CNMI long-term investor visa; held at CNMI DOC in Susupe and sought temporary release amid removal proceedings.

Sources

Edit Report issue County profile
Last updated: May 29, 2026