WHO IS CORECIVIC? 

CoreCivic, formerly Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), is a private prison company that owns, leases, and operates correctional, detention, and residential reentry facilities. They partner with government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels to manage these facilities and provide related services. Currently they are involved in a multitude of lawsuits, including being sued by the city of Leavenworth, KS, regarding an ICE facility they are attempting to open without following the city’s permit process laws.

Human Rights Violations & Inmate Abuse

Medical neglect leading to deaths

• Inmates have died from treatable conditions due to a lack of medical care.

• Example: In 2017, The Nation reported multiple preventable deaths in CoreCivic-run facilities due to medical indifference.

Use of solitary confinement

• Excessive and prolonged solitary confinement has been used, including for mentally ill detainees.

Understaffing causing violence

• Chronic understaffing has led to increased assaults, riots, and inmate-on-inmate violence.

• Example: In 2012, the Idaho Correctional Center (nicknamed the “Gladiator School”) was sued for turning a blind eye to brutal inmate fights.​

Legal Violations and Cover-Ups

Falsifying records

• CoreCivic has been caught falsifying staffing records to meet contract requirements they were failing.

• Example: In 2017, the company paid $1.3 million to Idaho to settle claims of falsified staffing logs.

Retaliation against whistleblowers

• Employees who speak up about abuses, corruption, or safety issues have reported being fired or harassed.

Failure to report sexual abuse

• CoreCivic has been investigated for not reporting or responding to sexual assaults inside their facilities.

Corruption & Political Influence

• Lobbying for stricter laws and longer sentences

• CoreCivic has spent millions lobbying for policies that lead to mass incarceration, especially targeting immigrants.

Profit from immigration detention

• The company makes money from locking up asylum seekers and people in ICE custody, including children and families.

• Example: CoreCivic operated the now-closed T. Don Hutto facility, where women reported abuse and prolonged detention.

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Immigration Detention Scandals

Abuse and neglect in ICE facilities

Detainees have reported:

• Rotten food

• Lack of medical care

• Verbal and physical abuse

• Example: The Eloy Detention Center in Arizona had one of the highest death rates of any ICE facility.

Suicides and mental health crises

• Multiple suicides have occurred due to lack of mental health care and poor conditions.

Workplace Safety and Staff Exploitation

Unsafe working conditions for staff

• Staff report being underpaid, overworked, and endangered due to poor training and high turnover.

• Relying on low wages and cutting costs

• CoreCivic prioritizes cost-cutting, leading to poor conditions for both workers and detainees.

Recent Issues in Leavenworth, KS

• Re-opening a facility shut down for abuse and understaffing

• The same Leavenworth facility CoreCivic wants to reopen was previously shuttered due to severe neglect, understaffing, and multiple lawsuits.

• A federal judge once described it as “an absolute hellhole.”