According to a report on Public Radio Tulsa, privately owned prisons in Oklahoma, including the Diamondback facility at Watonga, could soon be used to hold migrants arrested in immigration raids.
The news report references an earnings report from CoreCivic, the owner of the Watonga facility in which the CEO said many of the company’s empty holdings will be revitalized. He noted Diamondback and North Fork were each especially attractive because of their proximity to Oklahoma City. OKC is a central location for transport used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as the U.S. Marshal Service.
Neither city officials from Sayre, the home of North Fork, nor Watonga were quoted in the article. However, CoreCivic already has a contract with ICE to use the Cimarron facility in Cushing to hold migrants. The corporation has no connection to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, which recently purchased the Lawton Correctional Facility to house state prisoners.
The public in Blaine County has noted many recent upgrades to the empty Diamondback facility.
Not all communities are on board with housing illegal immigrants in dormant correctional facilities. Officials in Leavenworth, Kansas are suing to halt use of a prison there as a immigration detention center.