Leavenworth Kansas

Around 100 people opposed to the proposed data center filled the Leavenworth County planning meeting room, pushing for more scrutiny on regulations. A countywide moratorium on data center development expired this week.

The federal government's purchase of the CoreCivic-operated ICE detention center in Leavenworth is raising questions about whether the city will maintain the same level of oversight it established before the facility reopened.

Hundreds of murals dot the Kansas landscape, lending a touch of outer space to downtown Leavenworth with a “Star Trek” Spock mural, or in numerous communities reminding people they’re visiting the Sunflower State with splashes of the golden flowers and meadowlarks.

The city commission voted to grant a permit allowing private corrections company CoreCivic to hold over 1,000 federal immigration detainees in a shuttered facility.

Tuesday’s meeting was one of the last chances for opponents and supporters of the proposed immigration detention center to testify. Leavenworth, Kansas, officials plan a vote to approve or deny a permit request in the coming weeks.

A planning commission in Leavenworth recommended granting CoreCivic a permit to open a detention center, but with qualifications. The final decision will be left to the city’s commission.

The private prison company had previously argued it didn't need a permit to operate the now-idle prison as a detention center for immigration detainees. Now, CoreCivic says it will apply for the special use permit.

The federal government joined the private prison company CoreCivic in its legal fight against the city of Leavenworth, which has been fighting in court to stop the reopening of a controversial detention center for immigrants.

Private prison company CoreCivic is temporarily barred from holding detainees at its dormant Leavenworth facility. Yet preparations to reopen are going full steam ahead.

The Trump administration's budget bill authorizes $45 billion for more detention centers like the one CoreCivic plans in Leavenworth, Kansas. Groups around Kansas City have organized demonstrations against the ICE facility.