Immigration Detention Center COO: Wisconsin City Rejected Proposed Facility
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A company that runs privately-owned immigration detention centers has announced that city officials in New Richmond, Wisconsin have rejected their request to build a new facility.
Duane Ragsdale, the COO of Immigration Centers of America, said Thursday the city decided a detention center -- proposed to be built in the city's northwest corner -- would "not fit with the New Richmond 2040 Comprehensive Plan."
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"We're disappointed the city has decided to reject our proposal," Ragsdale said. "As a result, immigrants being detained in Wisconsin and Minnesota will be forced to remain incarcerated in local and county jails while awaiting their time in immigration court, rather than in a facility more suitable for those being held on civil charges."
Ragsdale went on to list the amount of jobs and money New Richmond will lose out on, including 219 full-time jobs, 368 construction jobs and more than $62 million in annual revenue.
The city had planned to hold a community conversation about the proposed center on April 25.
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