Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI) said she visited detainees she claimed were “constituents” at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Kansas, adding that the individuals said they were being treated “like human beings.”
Moore visited the detention facility in Leavenworth on Wednesday as part of an ICE initiative to allow House Democrats to conduct congressional oversight at two detention centers.
“I’m just leaving the Midwest regional reception center owned by ICE,” Moore said in a video posted to X. “We spent a couple hours inside touring the building. The good news is that the people we visited said that they’re being treated like human beings. The really bad news is we can’t figure out why they’re here. They’re not criminals. They’re not dangerous.”
It’s unclear why Moore, who represents Wisconsin’s 4th Congressional District, is crossing state lines to visit the Kansas facility. While the Leavenworth facility operates as the Midwest regional facility, the Badger State has a detention center where residents are likely to be held if detained.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Moore for comment.
In her social media post, Moore alleged that the company that operates the facility, CoreCivic, makes $307,000 per bed.
“We think that this is a money-making private prison that’s operating this facility, and that there’s a lot of monetary value in incarcerating people,” Moore said.
CoreCivic entered a two-year contract with ICE on Sept. 25, but the company said it faced legal challenges that delayed the intake process.
CoreCivic’s $60 million revenue was dependent on the result of a legal dispute over the company’s operation of the facility. The dispute with the Leavenworth local government was settled in August by the company selling the facility to the Department of Homeland Security. CoreCivic, based in Nashville, will still manage day-to-day operations.
ICE HOSTS HOUSE DEMOCRATS AT TWO DETENTION CENTER OVERSIGHT VISITS
The Washington Examiner reached out to ICE and CoreCivic for comment.
As part of ICE’s transparency initiative, Reps. Analilia Mejia (D-NJ) and Rob Menendez (D-NJ) visited Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey. The agency said that during the visits, lawmakers met with various types of detainees, including multiple illegal immigrants facing deportation orders and those deemed flight risks by immigration judges.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
