Oppose ICE Detention Centers in Rural Minnesota

The private company CoreCivic is submitting a bid to ICE to re-open the prison located at Appleton, Minnesota for use as a detention center for immigrants and refugees.
We believe that detention centers are morally unjust and not compatible with Minnesota values. We want to be a place that is open and welcoming to everyone, where people of all walks of life can feel at home. Rural Minnesota is thriving because immigrants have decided to make their home here. They are stemming population decline, keeping our schools from closing and consolidating, keeping our health care services and facilities open and funded. They are contributing to our tax base and providing an essential work force. They bring vitality, diversity and investment in our towns that are otherwise drying up.
The $200 million-plus needed to refurbish the prison could better be invested in addressing the ways our rural communities are struggling. We need job training, affordable and safe housing, child care options, expanded MN Care options for working families, and close-to-home treatment options for persons suffering from chemical dependency and/or mental illness.