ICE signs deal for NC immigration processing center

The GEO Group, the company that owns the former Rivers Correctional Center in Winton in Hertford County, announced on Wednesday that it entered into a five-year support services contract with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for the activation of a federal immigration processing center at the 1,320 bed facility.

There was speculation, after a report in the New York Times citing internal federal documents, of the immigrant center coming to fruition.

The news outlet stated that facility would be among the largest on the East Coast, housing 1,400 detainees, when it opens by the end of the year.

The support services contract is expected to generate approximately $80 million in annual revenues in the first full year of operations, according to a press release. GEO’s support services are expected to include the exclusive use of the facility by ICE, along with security, maintenance, and food services, as well as access to recreational amenities, medical care, and legal counsel.

“We expect that our company-owned Rivers Facility in Winton, North Carolina will play an important role in helping meet the need for increased federal immigration processing center bedspace,” George C. Zoley, GEO’s chairman, chief executive officer and founder, said in the release. “We are proud of our 40-year public-private partnership with ICE, and we stand ready to continue to assist the federal government in meeting its immigration enforcement priorities.”

GEO Group built the facility in 2001 in the northeastern part of the state, about 15 miles south of the Virginia border. It operated as a federal correctional facility until it shut its doors in 2021.

Carolina Journal first reported in February about the possibility of the Hertford County site in northeastern North Carolina being chosen for a detention facility. At the time, county officials said they didn’t receive any notification on ICE’s intentions.

The NY Times first reported in February that ICE planned to buy and convert several warehouses in 21 cities across the US to house illegal immigrants, including Concord in Cabarrus County. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also said one was being planned at the American Hebrew Academy in Greensboro, Guilford County, but both reports were unfounded.

The July report said that documents the NY Times obtained show that ICE plans to now sell seven warehouses they purchased for more than $700 million.

The report also said if the deal went through, that internal documents show that the ICE field office in Washington plans to manage the detention center, which possibly could open as early as late September.

The report notes that the facility is located in North Carolina’s competitive First Congressional District. Incumbent Democrat US Rep. Don Davis, who currently holds the seat, will face off against Republican challenger Laurie Buckhout in November’s General Election, a rematch of last election.

Some say the facility will bring much needed jobs to the area. The county, which has a population of less than 20,000, has a poverty rate of 23%, nearly double the statewide rate.

In 2021, the prison employed 300 people.

Reopening of rivers gets pushback, including from gov. Stein

But, the reopening of the facility is not sitting well with many others.

In February, residents told WVEC 13NewsNow that although they were all for ICE doing their jobs, the small rural community wasn’t ready for demonstrations and riots.

Gov. Josh Stein is also against the facility and made his thoughts known in a post on X.

According to the Deportation Data Project, over 6,300 people have been arrested by federal immigration agents since January 2025.

Lawmakers overrode a veto by the governor last month that will require state law enforcement agencies to comply with federal immigration detainers and cooperate with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement when a person in custody is believed to be in the country illegally. 

SB 153, the “North Carolina Border Protection Act,” an immigration-enforcement measure sponsored by state Sens. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham; Warren Daniel, R-Burke; and Buck Newton, R-Wilson, is framed as a public-safety measure aimed at strengthening cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. 

The bill also targets local governments with so-called sanctuary policies by holding them accountable for refusing to follow state immigration-enforcement laws.

“ICE signs deal for NC immigration processing center” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.