ICE paid $495 million for Minnesota prison previously offered to state for $75 million

Oct 30, 2026

In August 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acquired the vacant Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, Minnesota for $495.6 million from CoreCivic, despite the private prison operator having offered the same facility to Minnesota for $75 million in May 2025. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called for a congressional investigation into the $420.6 million price difference, while CoreCivic had previously donated $500,000 to the Trump-Vance inaugural committee.

ICE acquisition details and scale

▪CoreCivic sold four prisons, including Prairie Correctional Facility and locations in Kansas and California, to the U.S. government in summer 2026 for a combined $2.2 billion.
▪CoreCivic stands to earn an estimated $75 million annually over the next five years to operate the Prairie Correctional Facility for ICE.
▪ICE paid $495.6 million in August 2026 to acquire the vacant Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, Minnesota from CoreCivic to expand holding space for immigration enforcement.
▪The purchase of the 34-year-old Prairie Correctional Facility, which has been closed for 16 years, represents the largest real estate purchase in Minnesota history.

Previous sale offer to Minnesota

▪CoreCivic offered to sell the Prairie Correctional Facility to the state of Minnesota for $75 million in May 2025, a price that included facility upgrades.
▪Minnesota officials declined CoreCivic's $75 million offer in May 2025 due to staffing difficulties and the expense of housing approximately 500 required employees in remote Appleton.

Official reactions and investigation calls

▪At an October 30, 2026 anti-fraud event in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declined to answer a reporter's question about ICE's overpayment for Prairie Correctional Facility.
▪Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called on congressional committees to investigate ICE's $495.6 million purchase of the Prairie Correctional Facility from CoreCivic.
▪Minnesota Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell stated he was stunned by the federal government paying $420.6 million above CoreCivic's previous offer to Minnesota for the Appleton prison.

Defense and scrutiny of transaction cost

▪A September 2026 Government Accountability Office report warned of potential waste by ICE, citing $1.07 billion spent acquiring 11 warehouses that lost $20 million after project changes.
▪Federal records show private prison operator CoreCivic donated $500,000 to the Trump-Vance inaugural committee.
▪A CoreCivic spokesperson stated independent appraisers used a cost-based methodology for Prairie Correctional Facility, while noting the federal government determined the final sale price.