ICE opens once-empty western Minnesota prison for its use

The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday confirmed that a once-empty prison in Appleton, Minnesota, is now open and being used for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations.

According to DHS, the facility opened on Monday to "strengthen America's ability to enforce its immigration laws and carry out the American people's mandate for mass deportations."

The 1,600-bed Prairie Correctional Facility had been empty since 2010, according to Tennessee-based CoreCivic, which owns the prison.

"The site gives ICE immediate capacity to detain and remove those who have no legal right to remain, protecting American communities and restoring the integrity of our borders without waiting years for new construction," DHS said in a statement. "Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe. It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and ensuring we have resources to carry out President Trump's mission."

In August, CoreCivic announced a five-year contract with ICE and later completed a sale of the facility to the federal government for nearly $500 million.

The sale prompted Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison to call on Congress to investigate what he called a "corrupt $420 million prison overpayment," saying the state declined to purchase the prison previously for $75 million.

At the time of the August announcement, the activist group Indivisible Twin Cities said it was "outraged and horrified" by the contract and called the facility a "concentration camp."

"After the siege on our state by out-of-control federal agents who flagrantly ignored the law, it is an insult to our communities to open a for-profit concentration camp in our state. We oppose any concentration camp in Minnesota, or anywhere else," the group said.

When ICE and Border Patrol agents flooded into the state late last year, many detainees were held at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis before being moved to facilities in other states. Minnesota officials, immigration lawyers and others alleged the conditions within the building were deplorable, citing leg restraints for detainees, a shortage of beds and bathroom facilities and barriers to accessing legal aid.

The massive federal immigration operation in Minnesota, called Operation Metro Surge, sparked protests and lawsuits. During the operation, immigration agents in January shot and killed two Minnesotans, Alex Pretti and Renee Good. An ICE officer also faces charges for lying to the FBI in the Minneapolis nonfatal shooting of a Venezuelan man, which also occurred in January.

Appleton is in western Minnesota, about 30 miles from the South Dakota border.

Featured video is from Aug. 8, 2026