Rep. Craig Presses Trump Administration, Expresses Concerns About Plans to Open ICE Detention Center in Appleton

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Angie Craig pressed the Trump Administration about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) recent proposal to turn the former Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, MN, which was shuttered in 2010, into an ICE detention center.

In a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, Rep. Craig expressed her reservations about the proposed detention center and echoed widespread concerns from the Appleton community. She demanded answers from DHS officials about the impetus and plans for establishing a new ICE facility in Minnesota and committed to conducting a Congressional oversight visit in the case that the detention center does ultimately open.

“Since I came to Congress, I have worked to secure the border and keep our communities safe, but given that the Trump Administration has repeatedly wrongfully detained and deported legal immigrants and even U.S. citizens, I am concerned that this facility will only exacerbate fear in our communities and allow further disregard for due process,” Rep. Craig wrote. “Simply opening a mass detention facility in rural Minnesota while masked ICE agents are allowed to indiscriminately tear parents from their children does not help secure the border or keep our communities safe.”

Rep. Craig also highlighted significant pushback to the proposal from many in the Appleton community and urged DHS officials to consider local input moving forward. 

“As your Department and the entire Trump Administration move forward, I urge you to consider local input, economic conditions and potential labor market impacts when deciding on locations,” she wrote.

In closing, Rep. Craig demanded answers about why the former Prairie Correctional Facility had been chosen, how many detainees the proposed facility would hold and whether Congressional oversight would be allowed given previous efforts by ICE to block Members of Congress from exercising their oversight duties.

Last month, Rep. Craig condemned the Trump Administration’s blatant attacks on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and continued disregard for due process. In a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons, she cited several instances in which DACA recipients have been detained or deported by U.S. immigration authorities despite the legal and humanitarian protections they are afforded under the law.

You can read the full text of her most recent letter to Secretary Noem here.

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