The Fight

The Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls is New England’s primary ICE-holding site (~770 beds, ~102 ICE detainees as of April 28, 2026, run by the quasi-public Central Falls Detention Facility Corporation). A multi-year campaign to end its ICE contract escalated in the 2026 legislative session, when Central Falls lawmakers introduced bills to cancel the contract outright and bar Rhode Island governments from any federal civil-immigration detention contract. The fight pits a “Close the Wyatt” coalition — led by AMOR (Alliance to Mobilize Our Resistance), with the Bishop of Providence’s recurring “Rosary for Migrants” and faith-based support — against the financial dependence of cash-strapped Central Falls on the facility.

Timeline

• 2025: Wyatt reports daily ICE populations above 100 throughout the year; protests recur outside the facility
• Feb 19, 2026: Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI) visits ICE detainees at Wyatt; urges colleagues to do the same
• 2026 session: Sen. Jonathan Acosta and Rep. Joshua Giraldo (both Central Falls) introduce SB 2278 / HB 7436 to cancel the Wyatt ICE contract and prohibit RI state/municipal entities from entering or renewing federal civil-immigration detention contracts — modeled on laws in ~6 other states
• March 2026: AMOR releases FOIA-backed report documenting dirty drinking water, hunger, medical neglect, fees, and arbitrary punishment at Wyatt
• May 4, 2026: AMOR-organized rally outside Wyatt in support of the contract-ban bills
• May 5, 2026: RI Senate Judiciary Committee advances only 1 of 7 immigration bills; Close-the-Wyatt measures stall; advocates vow to continue
• May 7, 2026: Central Falls Detention Facility Corporation pays the city $250,000 — its first host-fee payment since 2021 and reportedly the largest impact fee since 2008

Key Actors

• Sen. Jonathan Acosta (Central Falls) — lead Senate sponsor (SB 2278)
• Rep. Joshua Giraldo (Central Falls) — lead House sponsor (HB 7436)
• AMOR (Alliance to Mobilize Our Resistance) — lead organizer; FOIA research and rallies
• Bishop of Providence — recurring “Rosary for Migrants” outside Wyatt
• Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI) — congressional oversight visit
• Central Falls Detention Facility Corporation — quasi-public operator; resumed host-fee payments amid the fight
• City of Central Falls — financially dependent on the facility, complicating closure

Why It Matters

Wyatt is the structural linchpin of New England ICE detention — closing it would force ICE to relocate the region’s detainees and disrupt the NH/MA/CT/ME transfer pipeline. The fight also tests whether a state can legislatively unwind a quasi-public (not for-profit) detention contract, and exposes the classic company-town tension: a poor city financially tied to a facility its own state delegation is trying to shut down.

Connections

• Facility: donald-wyatt-detention-facility-ri.md
• State overview: rhode-island-ice-detention-overview-2025-2026.md
• Companion RI fight: providence-ri-courthouse-ice-arrest-fight.md
• Regional pipeline: connecticut-ice-detention-overview-2025-2026.md, berlin-nh-fci-ice-detention.md

Sources

• City of Central Falls receives first payment from Wyatt since 2021 — Rhode Island Current (May 7, 2026)
• Stalled bills fuel immigration advocates to continue fight — Valley Breeze (May 2026)
• Advocates fight to shut down the Wyatt in Central Falls — Valley Breeze
• AMOR leads protests as FOIA requests confirm dirty drinking water at Wyatt — Steve Ahlquist (2026)
• Magaziner visits ICE detainees at the Wyatt — Rhode Island Current (Feb 19, 2026)
• Legislation Introduced to Close the Wyatt Detention Center — UpriseRI