Private prison contractor GEO Group announced Wednesday, July 29, the signing of a five-year contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to reactivate a federal immigrant processing center at the Rivers facility, located in Winton, in northeastern North Carolina.
The center is owned by GEO Group, one of the leading private operators of jails and immigration detention centers in the United States, and has the capacity to house 1,320 people.
According to the company, the deal would generate approximately $80 million in annual revenue during the first full year of operations.
The five-year contract stipulates the exclusive use of the facilities by ICE and the provision of security, maintenance, and food services, as well as medical care, legal advice, and access to recreational areas for the people in custody of the federal agency.
Internal documents obtained by The New York Times They revealed that ICE planned to reopen the detention center before the end of the year. Meanwhile, the GEO Group press release did not mention any specific reopening date.
The reopening of the detention center has generated concern among residents, organizations, and authorities. Learn how this story has unfolded:
Protests in Hertford against plans to reopen a prison as an immigration detention center
Community rejection
At the beginning of March this year, dozens of people protested in Hertford County against the possible reopening of the facility.
The protesters expressed to Enlace Latino NC their concern about the impact it could have on immigrant families and public services in this rural community.
Likewise, communities in North Carolina have repeatedly demonstrated in Raleigh, Charlotte, Durham and Concord in rejection of the ICE detention centers.
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein spoke out against the detention center: “The planned ICE detention center in Winton is not state-owned, and I did not approve this transaction. Like many other North Carolinians, I do not want it in our state. ICE and the Border Patrol have not earned our trust,” Governor Stein stated in a post published Saturday, July 25, on his X account.
Everyone who commits a crime should be held accountable, and violent criminals who are here illegally should be deported. However, ICE has a proven track record of arresting, detaining, and abusing American citizens, and the overwhelming majority of people ICE has detained have…
— Governor Josh Stein (@NC_Governor) July 24, 2026
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After the storm
A year ago, Hurricane Helene struck western North Carolina. The Latino community responded with something stronger than the storm: solidarity.
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