ICE Eyes Opening First NC Federal Detention Center In Winton
By Theresa Opeka
Carolina Journal
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could open North Carolina’s first federal detention center later this year at the former Rivers Correctional Center in Winton, Hertford County. That’s according to a New York Times report which cites internal federal documents.
The news outlet states that facility would be among the largest on the East Coast, housing 1,400 detainees, when it opens by the end of the year.
ICE is still in contract negotiations with the GEO Group, which built the facility in 2001. 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, 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.
If the deal goes through, the report also said 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 GEO Group didn’t respond to the NY Times request for comment and ICE told the paper that the agency had “no new detention centers to announce at this time.”
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.
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 13 NewsNow 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 Friday afternoon.
He said that while everyone who commits a crime should be held accountable, and violent criminals who are here illegally should be deported, ICE can’t be trusted.
“ICE has a proven track record of arresting, detaining, and abusing American citizens, and the overwhelming majority of people ICE has detained have no criminal record,” he said.
According to the Deportation Data Project, over 6,300 people have been arrested by federal immigration agents since January 2025.
“Meanwhile, last year dozens of people died while in ICE custody,” Stein, a Democrat, said. “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 Border Patrol have not earned our trust.”
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 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.
Stein and other Democrats criticized the bill as unnecessary and harmful to immigrant communities.
In a statement on social media, Berger, praised the override, saying the General Assembly was taking “decisive action to end sanctuary policies and tackle illegal immigration.”
Theresa Opeka is the Executive Branch reporter for the Carolina Journal.
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