In Hertford County, North Carolina, preparations are underway to reopen the long-closed Rivers Correctional Institution as a detention center for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), potentially making it one of the largest immigration detention facilities on the East Coast. Located in the northeastern part of the state near Winton, the facility is expected to provide around 1,400 detention beds. Contract negotiations between ICE and the private prison operator GEO Group, which owns the complex, are reportedly ongoing, though no official announcements have been made.

Internal documents indicate plans to have the center operational by late 2026, possibly as soon as September. The ICE field office in Washington is slated to manage the facility, signaling a significant expansion of detention capacity in a region that has been classified as a “detention desert” due to limited local facility options. Currently, detainees from North Carolina and nearby states are often transferred to facilities farther south, a process that is more costly and logistically challenging.

This move comes despite ICE scaling back a previous initiative to acquire warehouse detention centers across the country, a signature program under former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. In recent months, ICE has reportedly ceased plans to use some of those warehouses, including one in Pennsylvania’s Berks County, following criticism and logistical challenges. Instead, the agency has shifted focus toward repurposing existing prison complexes managed by private companies like GEO Group in states with sizable immigrant populations such as North Carolina, Colorado, and Arizona.

The decision to locate a facility in Hertford County has prompted mixed reactions among local officials and residents. The county, which has a population under 20,000 and a poverty rate nearly double the state average, is predominantly Black with Haitian and Mexican communities. Some local leaders have expressed concerns about the impact on quality of life, while others see potential economic benefits given the scarcity of well-paying jobs in the area.

Mayor Weyling J. White of nearby Ahoskie described the issue as deeply divisive, highlighting community unease about the presence of an ICE facility in the region. Hertford County Commissioner Leroy Douglas said local opinion remains split, with some residents opposing ICE’s tactics but others supportive due to job losses associated with the prison’s 2021 closure under the Biden administration, which sought to phase out federal contracts with for-profit prisons.

North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature recently enacted laws mandating cooperation between local law enforcement and ICE, which could increase demand for detention capacity. Governor Josh Stein, a Democrat, publicly opposed the facility’s opening, emphasizing that the state government did not authorize or approve the plan and voicing distrust in ICE and Border Patrol agencies.

Historically, the Rivers Correctional Institution faced federal criticism for poor inmate conditions prior to its 2021 closure, including high rates of violence and contraband. Staffing shortages have also challenged the operation of similar facilities statewide, raising questions about preparedness if the site reopens as an ICE detention center.

Community activists have mobilized to oppose the planned reopening, organizing protests and engaging with officials amid concerns about the broader implications of expanding federal immigration enforcement in the region. Meanwhile, GEO Group has advertised at least one maintenance position at the facility, with a minimum salary of $72,800, underscoring the potential for job creation alongside the controversy.

Since early 2025, ICE arrest activity in North Carolina has surged, with more than 6,300 apprehensions reported—double the number from the previous two years combined—reflecting a nationwide intensification of immigration enforcement under the current administration. As the Rivers Correctional Institution prepares to resume operations, Hertford County’s residents and officials face ongoing uncertainty over how this expansion will shape their community.