ICE Plans a 1,400-Bed Detention Center at a Shuttered North Carolina Prison Over the Governor's Objection

Internal documents obtained by The New York Times show Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to convert the Rivers Correctional Institution in Winton, North Carolina, into a 1,400-bed detention center, potentially opening by the end of 2026. The facility in rural Hertford County has been closed since 2021, when its contract lapsed under a Biden-era effort to wind down for-profit federal prisons. Owner GEO Group pitched the site to ICE as ready for use, per ACLU-obtained documents. It would be North Carolina's first dedicated ICE facility.

Siting detention capacity in a rural county with limited legal infrastructure raises questions about detainees' access to counsel and outside monitoring. When Rivers operated it drew federal scrutiny over contraband, officer violence and conditions; the same operator would run it again.

Governor Josh Stein said on July 24 that he did not approve the transaction and that "like many other North Carolinians, I do not want it in our state." ICE and GEO did not respond to inquiries. No contract award is publicly confirmed.