ICE may double Southern Nevada detention space as NV GOP floats ‘Coyote Compound’
A private Southern Nevada detention center that houses U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees in deportation proceedings might double its ICE capacity by the end of the year, according to reporting by The Washington Post.
The facility in question is the CoreCivic-operated Nevada Southern Detention Center in Pahrump.
According to internal documents cited by the Post, the jail would add a “soft-sided” structure to hold 450 additional ICE inmates, more than doubling its current capacity of 422 such detainees.
The Post’s reporting came after the Nevada Republican Party floated a theoretical plan this month for the state to construct its own “Alligator Alcatraz,” the Florida-built ICE detention facility in the Everglades.
Increased detention space
ICE intends to significantly increase its detention space across the U.S. to help with President Donald Trump’s “mass deportations” campaign promise, The Post reported Friday.
The capacity increased from 54,517 people in January to 65,922 through July, according to The Post, which reported that the end-of-year goal was to have 107,759 beds available.
The newspaper reported the expansion plans were fluid.
It wasn’t clear if a contract for the Pahrump facility had been awarded or finalized. CoreCivic referred a request for comment to ICE.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told The Post the planning documents were outdated and hadn’t been approved.
“We don’t have anything to announce at this time,” McLaughlin wrote in an email to the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Tuesday.
CoreCivic’s facility, approved by Nye County commissioners in 2008, has capacity for 1,072 inmates.
The development agreement allows it to hold detainees from ICE, the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Marshals, according to the county.
A contract with ICE this year allowed for additional space for migrants with no legal status.
“The facility is prohibited under the Development Agreement from housing more than 1,500 detainees on an average monthly basis,” a county spokesperson wrote in an email. “Any expansion of the detainee capacity requires an approved amendment to the Development Agreement.”
In addition to the CoreCivic arrangement, ICE has contracts to hold its inmates at the Henderson Detention Center and the Washoe County jail.
Nye County commissioners last year voted against reviving a deal with ICE to hold detainees at the Pahrump jail.
‘Coyote Compound’
The Nevada Republican Party polled supporters about whether they would like to see a “Coyote Compound” built in the likes of Alligator Alcatraz, according to an Aug. 4 fundraiser email.
“Florida has Alligator Alcatraz — a high-security ICE detention center designed to detain and process illegal immigrants quickly and efficiently,” the party wrote in the mass message. “Now, we’re asking: Should Nevada have something similar?”
Links in the message directed readers to a poll.
The party, including its Chairman Michael McDonald, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
State ICE facility not in the works
“At this point, federal partners have not discussed funding a detention center in Nevada,” Gov. Joe Lombardo’s office wrote in a statement to the Review-Journal.
Lombardo recently authorized 35 of its 3,500 uniformed Nevada National Guard members to help the DHS and ICE in the state.
“This effort is centered on vital clerical, administrative, and logistical support — ensuring there will be no direct contact with detainees, no law enforcement duties, and no weapons involved,” Lombardo’s office said.
The agreement came together through the Department of Defense and ICE, which requested help from 20 states.
“Nevada will continue to follow federal law and cooperate with federal immigration authorities under Governor Lombardo’s leadership,” the statement said. “Protecting our communities from crime is vital to the small businesses that drive our state’s economy.”
Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” complex was erected over eight days on an airstrip in the Everglades, which is known to be populated by the large reptiles and other wildlife.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis at the time said that it will expand to hold 3,000 migrants, costing an estimated $450 million annually, according to news reports.
A lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union alleged officials had denied access to inmates of proper legal representation. A federal judge in Florida dismissed a part of the lawsuit this week.
The Associated Press reported inmates at Alligator Alcatraz had reported broken toilets, wastewater flooding and witnessing worms in food.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
