CoreCivic Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, MN

The Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, Minnesota is a 1,600-bed private prison operated by CoreCivic that has stood empty since 2010. At the time these images were made, federal officials were weighing whether to reopen it as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center.

CoreCivic, formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America, built and ran the facility as a for-profit correctional institution, contracting with state governments to house their overflow prison populations. When those contracts dried up, the sprawling complex closed, leaving Appleton — a small Swift County city of roughly 1,200 people — without one of its larger employers.

The prospect of a federal ICE contract offered a potential economic lifeline to the town while drawing scrutiny from immigration advocates concerned about the conditions and accountability standards that apply at privately run civil detention facilities. The facility remains intact behind its razor wire perimeter, maintained but unoccupied, its future tied to shifting federal immigration enforcement priorities.