Small West Tennessee town weighs ICE detention contract

MASON, Tenn. (WKRN) — After Gov. Bill Lee announced Tennessee would assist with ICE deportations, one rural West Tennessee town may soon feel the impact.

On Tuesday night, leaders in Mason, a community of about 1,300 people about 45 miles northeast of Memphis, will vote on whether to approve a contract with ICE and CoreCivic to reopen the West Tennessee Detention Facility.

The facility has been closed since 2021 when President Joe Biden ordered federal agencies to end contracts with privately run prisons. CoreCivic, the Tennessee-based company that operated it, locked the doors. Now, the company is seeking to reopen it to house immigrant detainees.

📧 Have breaking news come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts →

For lifelong resident Eloise Thompson, the proposal is deeply personal. She lives in her great-grandfather’s home on land her family has owned for generations.

“What ICE is bringing to the community, or would bring, is just not who we are,” Thompson said. “It just adds on to the bringing down of the community, which also has a ripple effect.”

An immigrant rights group shares her concerns.

“We share the same sentiment that CoreCivic is a big, for-profit, private prison company that makes its profit off of the harming of our immigrant communities,” said Rebekah with Tennessee for All.

Supporters of the deal argue it would bring more jobs and revenue to the rural town, but for Thompson, that’s irrelevant.

“It doesn’t consider the morale of the community,” Thompson said.

⏩ Read today’s top stories on wkrn.com

Mason’s mayor and Board of Aldermen are set to meet Tuesday for a special meeting. The only item on the agenda: whether to approve contracts with ICE and CoreCivic.

Mason residents plan to pack the meeting hall, and protesters are expected.

WKRN reached out to CoreCivic for comment but has yet to hear back.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.