CoreCivic doubles down on argument that it can operate ICE prison without permit
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- CoreCivic asks appeals court to reverse injunction to allow reopening now.
- Leavenworth says grandfathered status ended after the facility sat empty 12+ months.
- Planning commission backs permit terms requiring police access and pump repairs.
Despite securing a key endorsement from the Leavenworth Planning Commission last week, CoreCivic attorneys were back in court Tuesday, arguing that the company should be allowed to forgo the local zoning process and begin accepting immigrant detainees immediately.
Sara Fevurly, an attorney representing the private prison chain, asked a panel of three Kansas Court of Appeals judges to reverse the temporary injunction blocking incarcerations at the razor wire-ringed detention center, which hasn’t held inmates since 2021.
She suggested that the city of Leavenworth could face monetary penalties for preventing CoreCivic from operating under its contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“To the extent this court finds that this temporary injunction was improvidently granted, CoreCivic is entitled to fees and damages,” Fevurly said.
The court did not rule on the appeal on Tuesday. Chief Judge Sarah Warner said a written decision will be issued as expeditiously as possible.
The Leavenworth City Commission is set to review CoreCivic’s special use permit application on Feb. 24 before deciding on March 10 whether to approve or reject it.
“Your client’s goal is to begin reusing this facility as a detention center, with or without a permit. Is that right?” Judge Thomas Malone asked the attorney.
“Yes,” Fevurly responded. “My client does want to use the facility as a jail or prison, as it has for many years.”
CoreCivic opened its Leavenworth facility in 1992. Under a 2012 city ordinance, all jail and prison operators within city limits must obtain a special use permit before opening. But the law waives the permit requirement for facilities in operation before 2012.
CoreCivic’s contract with the U.S. Marshals Service lapsed at the end of 2021 under a Joe Biden executive order barring the Department of Justice from contracting with private prisons.
Leavenworth has argued in court that CoreCivic lost its right to operate without a permit after the facility stood empty for more than 12 months.
“CoreCivic never abandoned or discontinued its use of the facility,” Fevurly said.
“You stopped using it, didn’t you? You didn’t have any prisoners, did you?” said Judge Stephen Hill.
He responded with skepticism to Fevurly’s assertion that CoreCivic should still be allowed to operate the detention center by right.
“There’s never been a permit for this facility to work. It’s always been grandfathered,” Hill said. “And then you discontinued the use of it. So all of a sudden, because you want to reopen the facility, it becomes a conforming use? It seems to me that the standard is, it was nonconforming to begin with. It’s still nonconforming until you get a permit.”
Irreparable harm
CoreCivic’s 2021 closure came amid deep community concerns over chronic violence, drug abuse and understaffing at the facility.
Joseph Hatley, an attorney representing Leavenworth, said the city succeeded in demonstrating that allowing CoreCivic to reopen without a permit would have caused irreparable harm.
Among other things, he cited an affidavit from Police Chief Patrick Kitchens attesting to the difficulties law enforcement had accessing the detention center before its closure.
“They were thwarted in their attempts to investigate crimes,” Hatley said. “CoreCivic was, at times, having inmates clean up crime scenes before the police could get there to investigate them. They were interfering with the police’s ability to interview witnesses.”
The terms of the zoning agreement recommended for approval by the planning commission would require CoreCivic to allow law enforcement and city inspectors timely access to the detention center.
The agreement would also require the company to replace a grinder pump that repeatedly malfunctioned and discharged large pieces of debris into the city’s sewer system, requiring costly repairs.
Fevurly characterized concerns about conditions at the prison before its closure as irrelevant to whether or not an injunction is appropriate.
“The Kansas Supreme Court is clear that past harms cannot constitute irreparable harm,” she said.
Judy Ancel of Kansas City, Kansas, made the trek to Topeka to listen to oral arguments. She said allowing CoreCivic to reopen immediately without any stipulations would be disastrous for the community.
“We would see a repeat of the abuses that we saw before they shut down in 2021,” Ancel said. “So the safety of the community, and beyond that, the ability for ICE to start arresting people and filling those beds, is an immediate danger.”
The vast majority of public speakers who addressed the planning commission last week opposed CoreCivic’s plan to reopen. Another protest in opposition to the ICE prison is scheduled for Tuesday evening at Leavenworth City Hall.
“One of the most important parts of the zoning and planning process is to get that input from the residents as to what is best for the public health and safety and welfare of the community,” City Attorney David Waters said after Tuesday’s arguments.
A spokesperson for CoreCivic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This story was originally published February 10, 2026 at 6:20 PM with the headline "CoreCivic doubles down on argument that it can operate ICE prison without permit."
