IN THE COUNTY LEGISLATURE OF JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI
Title
A RESOLUTION expressing the opposition of the Jackson County Legislature to the reopening of the CoreCivic-owned facility in Leavenworth, Kansas as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center.
Intro
RESOLUTION NO. 22115, November 20, 2025
INTRODUCED BY Manuel Abarca IV, County Legislator
Body
WHEREAS, CoreCivic, a private prison corporation, is seeking to reopen its previously closed detention facility in Leavenworth, Kansas as a 1,000-bed ICE jail, despite significant public concern regarding the impact on immigrant families and communities; and,
WHEREAS, the facility has remained closed since 2021, and its reopening is currently the subject of litigation between CoreCivic and the City of Leavenworth regarding whether a special-use permit is required before operations may resume; and,
WHEREAS, the Kansas state court has issued an injunction preventing CoreCivic from reopening the facility without first obtaining said permit, and CoreCivic is scheduled to seek reversal of that injunction in federal court on November 25, 2025 at 3:00 P.M. in Topeka; and,
WHEREAS, reopening this facility as an ICE detention center would enable ICE to detain and remove hundreds or thousands of immigrants from Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, and the broader region; and,
WHEREAS, numerous regional civil rights, faith-based, and community advocacy organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, Kansas Interfaith Action, the Cross-Border Network for Justice & Solidarity, New American Community, and others have spoken out against the reopening and are mobilizing residents to oppose the detention of immigrants in private, for-profit facilities; and,
WHEREAS, reopening the Leavenworth detention facility means the activation of ICE
operations in the region, which would be at odds with Missouri-based non-profit
organizations like the KC Chapter of the SCLC, KC NAACP, Mattie Rhodes Center, and other immigrant-serving community partners who have publicly advocated against the US Department of Homeland Security’s activation of the Department of Justice enforcement divisions expanding unfettered and unregulated access to discriminatorily tracking down, detaining and even disappearing undocumented persons and citizens; and,
WHEREAS, Jackson County is home to a diverse immigrant population, and the Legislature has consistently supported efforts that protect families, uphold human dignity, and prevent practices that may result in family separation or other harm; and,
WHEREAS, CoreCivic has a documented history of concerns related to transparency, accountability, and the treatment of detainees within its facilities; and,
WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that the reopening of the Leavenworth facility as an ICE detention center is contrary to the values and priorities of Jackson County and would pose unacceptable risks to immigrant families and the community; now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of Jackson County, Missouri, that it hereby opposes the reopening of the CoreCivic-owned Leavenworth detention facility for use as an ICE detention center; and,
FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature urges local, state, and federal authorities to uphold all permitting requirements, protect due process, and deny authorization for reopening the facility as an ICE detention center.
Enacted and Approved
Effective Date: This Resolution shall be effective immediately upon its passage by a majority of the Legislature.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
______________________________
County Counselor
Certificate of Passage
I hereby certify that the attached resolution, Resolution No. 22115 of November 20, 2025, was duly passed on ______________________________, 2025 by the Jackson County Legislature. The votes thereon were as follows:
Yeas _________________ Nays ___________
Abstaining ___________ Absent ____________
______________________ ______________________________
Date Mary Jo Spino, Clerk of Legislature