Kansas town allows immigration detention center in shuttered prison after yearlong fight

The City Commission in Leavenworth on Tuesday approved a three-year permit to private prison operator CoreCivic.

TOPEKA, Kan. — A Kansas town known for its prisons is allowing a shuttered private prison to reopen and house detained immigrants after a nearly yearlong legal fight amid a massive national push for new detention centers.

The City Commission in Leavenworth on Tuesday approved a permit to private prison operator CoreCivic. Members voted 4-1 to approve a three-year permit with conditions that set minimum staffing levels, ban the housing of minors and provide for a city oversight committee.

"If they don't follow those guidelines, we can pull the permit," Mayor Nancy Bauder said before the vote.

The 1,104-bed Midwest Regional Reception Center is 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of the Kansas City International Airport. CoreCivic, one of the nation's largest private prison operators, said the center will generate $60 million annually once it's fully open.

Leavenworth, Kansas, sued CoreCivic after it tried to reopen the shuttered prison without city officials signing off on the deal.