Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) is investigating the Department of Homeland Security’s $495 million purchase of an immigration detention facility in Minnesota after reports that the seller previously offered it to the state for $75 million.
Hassan, who is gearing up to lead the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, sent letters to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and CoreCivic, the private prison company that sold the Prairie Correctional Facility to the federal government. Hasan’s letters demanded DHS and CoreCivic preserve records related to the transaction as the committee examines whether the purchase involved “improper influence, corruption, or other violations of federal law.”
The $495 million price tag was roughly six times the amount CoreCivic previously sought from Minnesota for the facility, according to Hassan’s letter to the company.
“The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is investigating whether federal spending by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was subject to improper influence, corruption, or other violations of federal law,” Hassan wrote.
The senator is seeking records of the facility’s valuation, acquisition, financing, and operation, including appraisals, negotiations, contracts, and communications with DHS and White House officials. The request specifically named White House “border czar” Tom Homan and White House chief of staff Stephen Miller.
Hassan also cited Government Accountability Office findings concerning DHS’s spending on failed detention initiatives and allegations involving Corey Lewandowski, a former senior adviser to then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and another private detention contractor, GEO Group. The letter referenced reports that the Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into Lewandowski related to DHS contracting.
The investigation comes as CoreCivic has urged ICE to move quickly on additional detention facility purchases as Democrats prepare to take control of Congress in January.
“We would urge the ICE administration to move quickly,” CoreCivic President and CEO Lucibeth Mayberry said during the company’s quarterly earnings call Thursday, according to the Tennessee Lookout. “They have a need for capacity. We have the capacity. There’s no reason to wait.”
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The Brentwood, Tennessee-based company reported $1.3 billion from the sale of four detention facilities to DHS during its most recent quarter, helping boost its third-quarter financial results as the Trump administration expanded immigration detention.
Mayberry said CoreCivic remains in preliminary discussions with ICE about additional facility acquisitions, which she described as an important part of the agency’s detention strategy.