ICE increases detention capacity in Southern Nevada

Ricardo Torres-Cortez, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Mar 11, 2025

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LAS VEGAS — Immigration and Customs Enforcement increased in capacity in Southern Nevada and three other states or persons in the federal agency’s custody.

CoreCivic, a company that operates private prisons and detention centers across the U.S., announced contract modifications with ICE late last month.

One amended agreement adds up to 784 beds that ICE can use to hold detainees at three CoreCivic facilities, including at the Nevada Southern Detention Center in Pahrump. Two other facilities are in Ohio and Oklahoma, while a fourth in Mississippi will allow ICE to use up to 252 beds under a separate agreement, according to the company.

Details on the terms or the distribution of the new beds were not available, and a CoreCivic representative could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

“We have an extensive supply of available beds that provides our government partners the flexibility to satisfy their immediate and long-term needs in a cost-effective manner,” wrote CoreCivic’s CEO Damon Hininger in a Feb. 27 news release.

He added: “We are entering a period where our government partners, particularly our federal government partners, are expected to have increased demand. We anticipate additional contracting activity that will help satisfy their growing needs.”

The agreement to increase capacity arrived as President Donald Trump’s administration attempts to fulfill his campaign promise of mass deportations.

Southern Nevada facility

Under an intergovernmental contract with the U.S. Marshals Service, the Nevada Southern Detention Center houses about 800 inmates, according to CoreCivic.

The 1,072-bed facility has also housed regional ICE inmates since 2016, according to the federal government. ICE didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment about the migrant population at the Nevada Southern Detention Center.

A unannounced inspection by ICE almost a year ago deemed the Pahrump facility as compliant with three administrative “deficiencies.”

None of the nearly 40 inmates who agreed to be interviewed alleged “discrimination, mistreatment or abuse,” and they said they were “satisfied” with the services, according to the report.

‘Request for information’

ICE last year — before Trump was reelected — issued a request for information from private jails.

CoreCivic responded in June to the “Multi State Detention Facility Support” request for its Nevada Southern Detention Center and the California City Correctional Center.

The American Civil Liberties Union in December unveiled the correspondence between ICE, CoreCivic, GEO Group and MTC Corporation it obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

“The ACLU’s investigation into ICE’s plans reveals a dangerous push to expand immigration detention facilities across the country, including here in Nevada,” said Athar Haseebullah, executive director of the union’s Nevada chapter, wrote at the time. “Expanding ICE presence in Nevada will tear families apart, erode trust in law enforcement and make Nevada less safe.”

An Emerson College Poll about Trump’s first 50 days in office showed that 48% supported his immigration policies, 40% opposed and 12% were neutral.

A spokesperson for CoreCivic said in December that the facilities have a “significant amount of oversight and accountability.”

Ryan Gustin added: “Our responsibility is to care for each person respectfully and humanely while they receive the legal due process that they are entitled to.”

Officials have been tight-lipped about how immigration enforcement is playing out in Southern Nevada since Trump took office in January.

The Metropolitan Police Department has an informal agreement with ICE at the Clark County Detention Center, which limits enforcement collaboration at the jail. Henderson police has a contract to hold ICE detainees at the city’s jail.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is the only jurisdiction in Nevada with a formal agreement with ICE, but it, too, is limited to the jail.

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