KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne reports on stories in Overland Park, Johnson County and topics about government accountability. Share your story idea with Isabella.
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The heated dispute over a proposed ICE detention facility in Leavenworth continued Tuesday night with an hours-long public hearing.
The Tuesday night meeting was the first of two meetings in Leavenworth as city officials work to decide whether to allow a former private prison to reopen as an ICE detention center.
KSHB 41 News has been covering the issue and lawsuits extensively, sharing numerous voices of those for and against the proposal.
The City of Leavenworth has maintained CoreCivic, a private prison company, must get a special use permit to operate the facility. That requirement has been at the center of an ongoing legal dispute.
The Leavenworth City Commission listened to more than 60 people who signed up for public comment. They shared either their support and or opposition to CoreCivic's proposed detention center.
For many at Tuesday's public hearing, the decision was personal.
Many residents don't want CoreCivic back in Leavenworth operating a detention center. Others argue for the economic benefits the company would bring.
"Please vote no on the special use permit," one neighbor in opposition urged the commission.
"Reopening this facility has the potential to make a meaningful difference to our county," another neighbor in support of the detention center told the city commission.
Jeff Fagan, a former corrections officer, explained the project could bring revenue and hundreds of jobs to a historic prison town.
"We are at a point where we're struggling," Fagan said. "[The job] is over $28 an hour, which way exceeds the base wage of most jobs in Leavenworth."
But those who oppose the detention center say the economic benefit doesn't justify other costs.
Religious leaders, like First Lutheran Church Pastor Samantha Nichols, voiced their concerns against CoreCivic's history in Leavenworth and what they see as a lack of transparency from the company.
"The history of abuse under CoreCivic is absolutely atrocious and we do not want CoreCivic back in our community," Nichols said. "We’re looking for transparency, asking for accountability and will continue the fight to say no to CoreCivic and other detention facilities like it.”
The argument is also happening at the court level, as CoreCivic argues they don't need a special use permit to operate their detention facility.
The Leavenworth City Commission is expected to make a decision at its meeting on March 10.
KSHB 41 News reached out to CoreCivic for a response to concerns about conditions inside their facilities, but didn't hear back by the time the story was published.
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