The City Council of a small West Tennessee town, led by an immigrant mayor, approved reopening a city jail as an immigration detention center, despite opposition from community members.
Amid a heated meeting, the City Council of the city of Mason, population about 1,300, approved Tuesday night to award a contract to Core Civic to manage the detention center that will house detainees in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.
Only three of the seven elected officials voted in favor of the initiative, at least two council members voted against reopening the jail and two more abstained.
Mason Mayor Eddie Noeman, the first Egyptian immigrant to represent the city, voted to reopen the jail and sign a contract with ICE, citing job and economic opportunities for the city.
Dozens of people demonstrated against the new contract; however, it was approved.
In the session open to the public, Noeam said he supported the reopening of the jail for “the good of the city” and that he only seeks to give jobs to the people of the city without mentioning immigrants, according to information cited by NBC.
The jail that can hold 600 detainees was closed in 2021 under the presidency of then President Joe Biden (2021-2025), a mandate that was revoked by the current administration.
President Donald Trump’s administration has used up to 150 local jails to hold migrants in the face of a 49% rise in the number of people in ICE custody since his presidency began in January, according to information from EFE.
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