News & Commentary

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is claiming that a federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, is breaking the law and violating the rights of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees.

“In each of the four cas­es where we raised this chal­lenge in Kansas, none of our clients ulti­mate­ly faced cap­i­tal tri­als where the death penal­ty remained on the table … That is no coin­ci­dence.

Former CoreCivic employees regularly speak at city and county meetings about their negative experiences working in the closed detention center, and state organizations including the Kansas ACLU have helped organize press conferences and rallies.

"These are types of conditions that are going to be allowed to flourish without proper oversight, with this rush to mass detention," said Eunice Cho, a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union.

Ashley Hernandez, William Rogers, and Esmie Tseng discuss opposition to the efforts of CoreCivic and the Trump administration to reopen the CoreCivic prison in Leavenworth.

Opposition to an immigration detention center in Leavenworth, Kansas, illustrates a tension playing out across the country.

In 2021, the American Civil Liberties Union urged the White House to close the facility, which was later achieved when then-President Joe Biden issued an executive order ending any contracts with private prisons.

Esmie Tseng, spokeswoman for ACLU of Kansas, said the Thursday press conference was a way to keep the issue in front of the Leavenworth community. Although organizations put the event together, she said it’s important that the city be the focus.

The constitutional challenge brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations came to an end once their clients accused of capital crimes no longer faced the ultimate punishment.