Oklahoma correctional facility to house federal immigration detainees
Nov 17, 2025 | 5:24 pm ET
Description
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer's badge is seen as federal agents patrol the halls of immigration court in New York City on June 10, 2025. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)(This image cannot be republished without a Getty subscription.)
OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma correctional facility in Watonga is reopening to house Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees.
CoreCivic, a private prison company, operates the Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga.
CoreCivic was awarded the contract under an agreement between ICE and the Department of Corrections, according to a news release.
As part of CoreCivic’s contract with the Department of Corrections, the agency will receive a monthly administrative fee of $833,000 to “monitor CoreCivic’s compliance and perform other administrative functions,” according to a contract obtained by Oklahoma Voice through an open records request.
CoreCivic, which has an “ownership interest” in the facility, will be responsible for receiving and housing the federal detainees while the Department of Corrections will “ensure the transfer and placement” of detainees at the Watonga facility, according to a news release.
The contract with the Department of Corrections began Sept. 30 and lasts five years, with options for renewal, according to a news release.
When the facility is fully operational, annual revenue is expected to be about $100 million, said Brian Todd, a CoreCivic spokesperson. CoreCivic expects to begin receiving detainees in the first quarter of 2026, he said in a statement.
The Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga has 2,160 beds and has not been in use since 2010, Todd said.
The facility was built in 1998 and was previously owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of America.
Todd said the facility is expected to create 400 jobs and generate about $760,000 in annual property taxes and approximately $2 million in annual utility payments.
“CoreCivic does not enforce immigration laws, arrest anyone who may be in violation of immigration laws, or have any say whatsoever in an individual’s deportation or release,” he said in a statement. “CoreCivic also does not know the circumstances of individuals when they are placed in our facilities. Our responsibility is to care for each person respectfully and humanely while they receive the legal due process that they are entitled to. ”
The Department of Corrections will have access to the Watonga facility and its records, according to the contract.
A spokesperson for ICE did not respond to questions by the time of publication.
Oklahoma City, OK
