North Carolina is set to open its first immigration detention center in the state’s northeastern corner before the end of the year, adding a 1,320-bed facility that has drawn both economic anticipation and grassroots protests. The GEO Group, a federal prison contractor, signed a five-year contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to reopen the Rivers Correctional Institution in Winton as the Winton ICE Processing Center, The News & Observer reported.
A 1,320-Bed Facility Takes Shape in Winton
The facility sits on the edge of Hertford County, roughly 20 miles south of the Virginia state line. It closed in 2021 after President Joe Biden issued an executive order to terminate federal contracts with private prisons.
Before that closure, the prison faced high rates of inmate grievances, positive drug tests, and inmate-on-inmate sexual assault, according to a 2016 federal report.
From Federal Prison to ICE Processing Center
In July, The GEO Group announced its new contract with ICE to revive the site. An unnamed state official told The New York Times that the facility could open as early as late September, though construction continued near the front gate as October arrived, and 47 job postings remained active on the contractor’s careers page.
Local Employment Meets Organized Opposition
While the conversion brings local jobs that some residents note can support middle-class lifestyles, it has also sparked organized opposition. Rainier Bradshaw, a 15-year-old resident of Winton and Murfreesboro—towns with a combined population under 4,000—began speaking out against the facility at county commissioners meetings earlier this year.
On a Saturday in late September, about 50 protesters marched outside the facility gates. Many participants traveled from outside Hertford County, hailing from Wilmington, the Outer Banks, Chapel Hill, Durham, Jones County, and Virginia.
Statewide Groups Drive Advocacy as Local Awareness Remains Low
Ray Bradshaw, Rainier’s father, noted that many local residents likely remain unaware that the shuttered prison is reopening as an ICE detention center. Winton resident Alison Brown confirmed she and her husband, Mark Brown, had not heard about the September protest beforehand, suggesting the issue is not yet on the radar of many everyday citizens in the immediate area.
Organizations outside Hertford County are driving much of the pushback. Stop Detention Centers NC, a statewide grassroots group, funded a $1,100 billboard in Ahoskie condemning the facility and mailed informational postcards to local residents.
Unanswered Questions as the Opening Looms
Jessica Burroughs, an organizer with the national social justice nonprofit The Workers Circle, emphasized that the campaign targets private prison operators rather than local workers seeking employment. Caroline Stephenson, a Hertford County resident and the primary protest organizer, stated that activists plan to continue marching at least once a month as the opening date approaches. The GEO Group did not respond to repeated requests for comment from The News & Observer.
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