This story came first, then the second article. It’s interesting, because it’s not a protest, or anything, it’s simple local ordinance. (Ordinances = the law here.)
By:Morgan Chilson-September 23, 20255:39 pm
TOPEKA — The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday joined a private prison company in its legal fight with Leavenworth city officials, accusing the city of “aggressive and unlawful” interference with immigration enforcement.
The DOJ filed a statement of interest in the case in U.S. District Court, signed by the assistant U.S. attorney general’s office.
“The United States has a strong interest in countering state and local efforts to harass federal contractors, in the proper application of the Constitution and its Supremacy Clause, and in the foundational principles that protect the Federal Government from unconstitutional state and local interference,” the filing said.
A statement of interest authorizes the U.S. attorney general to become a non-party in a suit pending in any court in the country, the filing said.
CoreCivic and the city of Leavenworth have been fighting in court for months over the city’s requirement that CoreCivic go through its development process to receive a special use permit before reopening its prison facility at 100 Highway Terrace.
Nashville-based CoreCivic announced in March that it would reopen the prison facility, which closed in 2021, to house Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees.
CoreCivic and the city have a hearing scheduled Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Topeka as part of an appeal of a Kansas court’s decision barring CoreCivic from housing ICE detainees while the case about the development permit is being heard.
CoreCivic has alleged in multiple filings that Leavenworth officials are violating the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution and interfering with the operations of the federal government. That clause sets federal laws as supreme over state laws.
The U.S. government’s statement Tuesday pushed that argument forward, saying that it is “especially true” in relationship to immigration.
“Defendants have violated the Supremacy Clause by attempting to stymie the Federal Government’s immigration-related operations at 100 Highway Terrace,” the federal filing said, citing multiple cases to support its arguments that federal contractors are free from state control.
“This well-settled principle has been consistently applied to invalidate state and local laws that impose requirements on federal contractors,” the filing said.
The city’s efforts to prevent CoreCivic from housing immigration detainees at its prison, recently renamed the Midwest Regional Reception Center, is an attempt to regulate the federal government’s efforts to house detainees at that facility and violates the supremacy clause, the filing said.
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By:Morgan Chilson-September 24, 20254:45 pm
TOPEKA — Leavenworth officials aren’t backing down from holding private prison company CoreCivic accountable to development regulations even after the U.S. Department of Justice jumped into the case Tuesday.
The DOJ filed a statement of interest in the U.S. District Court case between Nashville-based CoreCivic and Leavenworth, arguing the city was violating the supremacy clause in the U.S. Constitution.
“The federal government’s filing does not change our view of the case or the approach we plan to take,” said W. Joseph Hatley, a Kansas City, Missouri, attorney representing the city of Leavenworth. “The arguments in that filing mirror arguments CoreCivic has previously made, without success.”
The clause says federal laws are supreme over state laws, and in its filing, the DOJ said Leavenworth is interfering in the federal government’s immigration enforcement efforts.
Leavenworth Mayor Holly Pittman has said the city’s fight over reopening CoreCivic’s prison isn’t driven by politics, despite repeated outcry from Leavenworth residents against housing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees.
She said the city is concerned about holding businesses accountable to their development regulations, which would require CoreCivic to apply for a special use permit.
Earlier this year, CoreCivic announced it planned to reopen its prison facility in Leavenworth to fulfill an ICE contract that would pay the company $4.2 million per month. But Leavenworth officials contend the company must follow the city’s revised development process and apply for a special use permit.
In court filings, the city’s attorneys highlighted issues with CoreCivic’s operation of its previous prison, which closed in 2021, including failing to cooperate with Leavenworth police and failure to report the death of an inmate for six days. Leavenworth officials have said a special use permit would allow them to address such problems.
U.S. District Judge Toby Crouse on Wednesday set a hearing on a CoreCivic motion for a preliminary injunction for 3 p.m. Nov. 25, Hatley said.
CoreCivic is appealing a Kansas district court decision to stop the company from housing ICE detainees as the legal disagreement with Leavenworth goes through the courts.
