Prison Gets Contract to House ICE Detainees

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – CoreCivic Inc., formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America, announced Thursday it received a contract award from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at its 2,016-bed Northeast Ohio Correctional Center to assist ICE with its detention needs.

The new contract contains an initial term expiring March 31, 2017, with four six-month renewal periods at the option of ICE. CoreCivic now houses approximately 600 detainees from the U.S. Marshals Service at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Center on the city’s east side.

CoreCivic has started hiring additional staff and expects to be able to accommodate up to 500 detainees over the next several months.  While the contract provides ICE the flexibility to increase detainee populations beyond this level, it also provides CoreCivic the option to house other inmate populations at the facility.

As of Thursday afternoon, Mayor John McNally had not heard from the company regarding how many jobs CoreCivic would add at the prison, or when that might take place.

Nearly two years ago, the Nashville-based company was notified it had lost the contract to house federal inmates at the prison.

“Our business strategy has always focused on positioning CoreCivic to be the most qualified and reliable partner to meet the complex demands of government organizations,” said Damon T. Hininger, president and CEO, in a statement.

“Whether it’s providing state-of-the-art real estate solutions, comprehensive rehabilitative programs in correctional and residential reentry facilities or, in this case, providing much-needed detention bed capacity to ICE, we have consistently proven our ability to thoughtfully and efficiently work with our partners to address their needs,” he continued.

CCA rebranded as CoreCivic in October.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.