AFSCME Council 5 Strongly Condemns ICE–CoreCivic Contract to Reopen Appleton Private Prison
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Max Hall
612-247-3725
Max.Hall@afscmemn.org
AFSCME Council 5 Strongly Condemns ICE–CoreCivic Contract to Reopen Appleton Private Prison
South St. Paul, MN - AFSCME Council 5 Executive Director Bart Andersen released the following statement after the announcement that ICE and CoreCivic have entered into a formal agreement to reopen the private prison facility in Appleton, MN as a for-profit, private immigration detention center.
"AFSCME Council 5 strongly condemns the decision by ICE to contract with CoreCivic to reopen the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, MN as a for-profit, private immigrant detention center. This decision is morally wrong, dangerous, and more costly for communities across Minnesota, and is fundamentally at odds with the values of dignity, justice, and respect that we hold dear as Minnesotans.
"No corporation should generate revenue and profit from imprisoning human beings, separating families, and expanding a for-profit detention industry that treats human beings and workers as sources of profit for shareholders. When a corporation’s revenue depends on keeping more people locked behind bars for longer periods of time in dangerous conditions and having poorly trained and equipped staff on site, safety and human dignity will always come second to the company’s bottom line.
"Minnesotans have repeatedly rejected the privatization of incarceration in our state, including up to the recent passage of legislation in 2023 that our union members championed which banned private prisons for state and local government-housed offenders. Reopening this facility under a federal immigration contract does not make privatized detention acceptable in any way, it merely attempts to circumvent the will and values of our state while placing people into the custody of a corporation that is accountable first and only to its shareholders, rather than to Minnesotans.
"Our union rejects the false choice between good jobs and human dignity. Workers and metro and rural communities deserve sustainable economic development, strong public services, and family-supporting union jobs, not an economy built around the private profit of incarceration. Public dollars should be invested in strengthening our communities, not enriching private prison corporation executives, their shareholders, or Wall Street stock traders.
"Last year, AFSCME Council 5 convention delegates adopted a resolution opposing for-profit, private immigration detention centers and supporting organized visibility actions against their expansion. Our union also helped form a Migrant Detention Center Rapid Response Network, bringing together workers who are committed to defending human rights and opposing the private, for-profit migrant detention industry.
"CoreCivic and ICE should not mistake a signed contract for any level of public acceptance by Minnesotans. We will not remain silent while this, or any, private corporation attempts to profit from incarcerating human beings.
"AFSCME Council 5 members remain firmly opposed to the reopening of the Appleton for-profit, private prison."
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