ICE to Reopen Rivers Prison in North Carolina as Large Detention Center

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to reopen the former Rivers Correctional Facility in Winton, North Carolina, as the state’s first ICE detention center. The 1,400‑bed facility, owned by private prison operator GEO Group, is expected to be operational by the end of the year, expanding ICE’s capacity in a region described as a “detention desert.”

Documents obtained by The New York Times and the ACLU of North Carolina show that contract negotiations are still ongoing. The ACLU highlighted the prison’s past problems with violence, contraband and sexual abuse, warning that “Merecemos algo mejor que esto,” and criticized the use of private prisons for immigration detention. State lawmakers, who recently mandated cooperation between local sheriffs and ICE, are likely to increase demand for the new beds. The move reflects ICE’s shift from buying warehouses to repurposing existing prison complexes to meet regional detention needs.

The development is expected to reduce the distance detainees from neighboring states must be transported, lowering costs and allowing ICE to detain more individuals across the Carolinas and surrounding areas.