Michigan’s New ICE Hub Faces Big Questions

Excerpt:
Michigan’s 1,800-bed North Lake Processing Center reopened this summer amid promises of jobs and “strict compliance” with detention standards—yet data and watchdogs point to secrecy, overcrowding risks, and a rising share of non-criminal arrests. As Dearborn neighbors to many immigrant families, we examine the facts, the economics, and the human stakes—then outline what real community safety should look like.

In Baldwin, Michigan—down a sandy road lined with jack pines—the former North Lake Correctional Facility flipped back on this summer with a new name and mission: the North Lake Processing Center, now under contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and operated by the private prison giant, The GEO Group. The facility officially reopened in mid-June 2025 and is ramping intake through the fall, with capacity for 1,800 beds, the largest such site in Michigan and one of the largest in the Midwest [1][2].

GEO and ICE describe North Lake as a jobs engine and a compliance-driven operation. Company filings project over $85 million in annualized revenue at full occupancy, with phased intake in the third and fourth quarters of 2025 [3]. Locally, coverage has estimated hundreds of positions, potentially making it Lake County’s largest employer when fully online [4][5]. Yet civil-rights groups, local organizers, and detention researchers warn that capacity expansion often coincides with opaque conditions, transfer churn that isolates families, and a high share of detainees with no criminal convictions [6][7][8].

What changed in Baldwin?

North Lake’s story reflects a whiplash decade of U.S. detention policy. In 2019, GEO won a federal contract to house non-citizen federal inmates. In 2022, the prison closed when the federal government curtailed private-prison contracts. In June 2025, it reopened under ICE as a civil immigration detention and processing center—rebranded North Lake Processing Center [1]. As of late summer, intake has been “gradually ramping up” under ICE oversight [3].

“We expect that our company-owned North Lake Facility in Michigan will play an important role in helping meet the need for increased federal immigration processing center bed space.” [3]

GEO Group investor statement

Local media chronicled protests at and around the site this summer, including actions organized by No Detention Centers in Michigan and allied groups. Coverage in Big Rapids and Bridge Michigan documented steady opposition since the reopening was announced in March, and demonstrations in June and July drawing hundreds [4][5][9][10].

Who is being detained—and why that matters

Nationally, ICE’s detained population surpassed 56,000 in late July, with over 70% of people held having “no criminal conviction.” TRAC at Syracuse University, which tracks ICE’s weekly stats, has repeatedly emphasized that many “convictions” in the remainder are minor offenses, including traffic violations [6][11]. Recent investigations show deportations rising for people with minor convictions or no criminal history at all [12][13]. This is the context into which North Lake is expanding.
The Washington Post

“Arrests fell in July but the number of people detained rose—reflecting transfers and longer stays in custody.” [11]

TRAC detention briefing, Aug. 15, 2025

Michigan’s ICE operations are run by the Detroit field office, which oversees facilities in Michigan and Ohio. In-state, the other ICE sites include the Calhoun County Correctional Center (Battle Creek), Chippewa County Correctional Facility (Kincheloe), Monroe County Jail, and St. Clair County Jail—but North Lake is by far the largest and is designed to centralize intake and transfers [1][14][15][16][17]. Families often report difficulty locating loved ones due to rapid transfers between facilities and across state lines, a practice researchers say can complicate legal defense and erode due process [6][7].
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Conditions, oversight, and the record that worries advocates

ACLU of Michigan opposed the reopening, citing the site’s scale and GEO’s record, including barriers to legal counsel documented in multiple states [18]. During the early pandemic, North Lake—then under a Bureau of Prisons contract—was the focus of hunger strike reporting and COVID-19 concerns by Interlochen Public Radio in 2020 [19]. More recently, California’s attorney general flagged “failure to prevent or address sexual assault and abuse issues” across federal immigration detention sites in that state—many run by private contractors—while GEO’s own 2024 PREA report logged hundreds of sexual abuse/harassment allegations across its facilities (allegations, not adjudicated findings) [20][21][22].

“This detention facility is part of a mass deportation scheme resulting in the separation of families… antithetical to Michigan values.” [18]

ACLU of Michigan

Courts have also scrutinized wage practices in privately run ICE centers. In Washington state, a jury found in 2021 that GEO violated the state minimum wage law by paying detained workers $1/day; appeals stretched into 2025, with significant rulings against the company (including a combined $23M award, later subject to further appellate twists) [23][24][25]. Separately, advocates report retaliation and solitary confinement complaints connected to work program disputes in multiple states [26].

ICE and GEO strongly dispute characterizations of inhumane conditions. ICE maintains that detainees receive medical care, legal visitation access, and grievance processes. GEO says on-site ICE staff and Department of Homeland Security monitors ensure “strict compliance” with detention standards and touts robust access to medical and mental-health professionals. The ICE facility page for North Lake offers a public contact and detainee-locator instructions (though real-time population numbers are not posted) [2][27].

Jobs vs. justice: the economics of an 1,800-bed site

Proponents say the reopening brings stable jobs to Lake County, among Michigan’s most economically challenged areas. Reporting from Bridge Michigan and Big Rapids News notes the potential for hundreds of positions and a large local payroll—plus property-tax revenue from a facility that remains the county’s largest taxpayer even when idle [4][5]. Yet there’s a catch: detention markets are policy-driven and volatile. Contracts can be modified, canceled, or consolidated. Bridge Michigan quotes residents concerned that the windfall “doesn’t last,” and national detention capacity has historically expanded and contracted with federal priorities more than local need [4][7].

“When open, the facility is the largest employer in Lake County; even when idle, it remains the county’s biggest taxpayer.” [4]

Bridge Michigan

Transparency gaps that Michigan can fix

Data: ICE’s public dashboards and facility pages provide phone numbers and standards, but not daily population. Independent trackers (TRAC) and research projects (Deportation Data Project) have become essential to understanding who is detained and where—and both warn about data limitations, especially for 2025 removals datasets [6][8]. Michigan’s civil-society ecosystem—universities, newsrooms, legal clinics—should be resourced to audit state-level patterns in arrests, transfers, and outcomes using these imperfect datasets, paired with FOIA requests.

Oversight: Michigan’s congressional delegation and Lansing lawmakers can perform unannounced site visits, push ICE for language-access guarantees and attorney-client privacy, and require regular public reporting on North Lake’s population, transfers, medical staffing, and grievances. California’s statewide inspections offer a template for attorney general-led reviews that publish system-level findings across facilities [20]. The Guardian

Local government: County boards and city councils can adopt due-process resolutions and fund legal orientation programs (LOP-style briefings) for families. Michigan’s ACLU has already sued for records on ICE use of county jails; that push for sunshine should extend to contracts, per-diem rates, and any public subsidies linked to the facility [28]. Michigan Advance

What community safety really means (Dearborn’s lens)

Dearborn knows the truth in our bones: Safety is trust. Our neighborhoods thrive when families can send kids to school, go to work, and seek care without fear. The Green Party platform—and the broader human-rights community—argues that mass, for-profit detention isn’t just morally wrong; it’s inefficient policy. Alternatives to detention (ATD), community case-management, and legal counsel access improve compliance and reduce harm at far lower cost than building bed space for people who overwhelmingly pose no public safety threat [6][11].

“Most detainees in ICE custody have no criminal convictions.” [6]

TRAC weekly snapshot

For Dearborn readers and partners, here’s what principled pragmatism looks like:

• Know your rights: Documented or not, you have constitutional protections. Connect with **Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC)** for rights education and legal referrals [29]. :contentReference[oaicite:14]{index=14}
• Demand transparency: Ask state/federal reps to publish quarterly **North Lake metrics**: average length of stay, transfers out of state, medical staffing, language access, and attorney-client visitation delays.
• Invest locally—people over prisons: Economic development dollars should **diversify Lake County’s job base** rather than tether it to a single volatile contract.
• Stand in solidarity: Immigrant justice is braided to all our fights—labor rights, housing, climate, and Palestinian human rights. Communities targeted for immigration enforcement are often the same communities grieving violence abroad. Our ethics don’t stop at state lines.

Balance, facts, and a path forward

Let’s hold two truths at once. Truth one: communities like Baldwin need good jobs and reliable public revenue. Truth two: for-profit civil detention is an expensive detour from real public safety and due process. It produces predictable harms—family separations, legal limbo, and the chilling of everyday life—especially when most people detained are not a danger. Michigan can do better. That means rigorous oversight, data transparency, funding for counsel and alternatives, and work that doesn’t demand we trade neighbors’ rights for payroll lines.

In Dearborn, our compass is simple: human dignity, community safety, truth-telling. The world is complicated and sometimes cruel; our response doesn’t have to be. We choose systems that keep families together, keep courts honest, and keep the economy rooted in work that builds life rather than warehouses it.

Sources

[1] Wikipedia editors. “North Lake Correctional Facility.” (last updated Aug. 2025). (Context timeline; cross-checked against primary releases.)
Wikipedia

[2] ICE. “North Lake Processing Center—Facility Page.” Aug. 7, 2025.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

[3] GEO Group (Investor release). “Q2 2025 Results; North Lake ramp and $85M+ projection.” Aug. 6, 2025.
Geo Group Investors
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Geo Group Investors
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[4] Bridge Michigan. “In Baldwin, ICE detention center spurs anger — and hope.” Sept. 4, 2025.
Bridge Michigan

[5] Big Rapids News. “GEO to reactivate Baldwin facility for ICE; protests planned.” Mar. 20 & Jun. 3, 2025.
Big Rapids Pioneer
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[6] TRAC Syracuse. “ICE Detention Statistics (weekly snapshot).” July 27, 2025; Aug. 15, 2025.
tracreports.org
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[7] TRAC report. “ICE Contractual Capacity and Number Detained (overcrowding/transfer analysis).” July 8, 2025.
tracreports.org

[8] Deportation Data Project. “Latest ICE enforcement dataset; cautions on 2025 removals table.” Aug. 11, 2025.
deportationdata.org
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[9] Michigan Advance. “Rally draws hundreds to protest ICE action outside Michigan processing facility.” Sept. 8, 2025.
Michigan Advance

[10] The Marshall Project. “‘Zombie Prisons’: How ICE detention is raising troubling questions.” Aug. 29, 2025. (Includes North Lake July 4 protest photo/reporting.)
The Marshall Project

[11] TRAC Syracuse. “ICE Detention Statistics Show Arrests Continued to Decline While Individuals Detained Rose.” Aug. 15, 2025.
tracreports.org

[12] The Marshall Project. “ICE is deporting thousands with minor offenses.” Aug. 15, 2025.
The Marshall Project

[13] Washington Post. “ICE increasingly targets migrants with no criminal record.” July 3, 2025.
The Washington Post

[14] ICE facility pages. Calhoun County Correctional Center; Monroe County Jail; Chippewa County Correctional Facility; St. Clair County Jail. 2025 updates.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
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[15] Michigan Advance. “ACLU of Michigan files lawsuit seeking records on immigrants detained in county jails.” Jan. 23, 2025.
Michigan Advance

[16] Interlochen Public Radio. “How many people are in there? North Lake is open; the count is hard to track.” July 14, 2025.
Interlochen Public Radio

[17] Vera Institute. “ICE Detention Trends: limited, error-prone statistics; need for independent analysis.” July 2025.
Vera Institute of Justice

[18] ACLU of Michigan. “ACLU opposes opening of North Lake—largest immigrant detention facility in the Midwest.” June 17, 2025.
ACLU of Michigan

[19] Interlochen Public Radio. “North Lake staff COVID positives as hunger strike ends.” April 14, 2020.
Interlochen Public Radio

[20] California DOJ. “Immigration Detention in California—2025 Report.” April 16, 2025. (Findings include sexual assault prevention failures.)
California DOJ

[21] GEO Group. “2024 PREA Annual Report” (allegations data).
The GEO Group

[22] The Guardian (US). “Abuse claims are rife in California detention centers.” Feb. 6, 2025.
The Guardian

[23] Reuters. “GEO can’t nix $23M verdict over detainee pay” (Tacoma/WA case). Jan. 16, 2025.
Reuters

[24] WA Attorney General. “Ninth Circuit affirms GEO violated Washington’s Minimum Wage Act.” Jan. 16, 2025.
Washington Attorney General

[25] Ninth Circuit (opinion PDF). Nwauzor v. GEO Group developments, Aug. 13, 2025.
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

[26] ACLU of Northern California report. “Resistance, Retaliation, Repression—Two Years in California Immigration Detention.” Aug. 12, 2024.
The ACLU of Northern California

[27] ICE. Detainee Locator & North Lake contact instructions. 2025.
Detainee Locator System
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[28] Michigan Advance. “30+ groups urge Whitmer to reject funding for new ICE detention sites in Michigan.” Aug. 5, 2025.
Michigan Advance

[29] Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC). Press inquiries/contact (for referrals and KYR resources). 2025.
michiganimmigrant.org

Notes for readers

Footnotes above correspond to the numbered sources in this list. Where possible, we linked directly to primary documents (government, court filings, official datasets) and high-quality journalism for context.

Population figures are snapshots that change week-to-week; the most current snapshot available at publication is cited.

Disclaimer

Dearborn Blog is a platform for news, analysis, and commentary. This article is based on publicly available information and sources linked above. We strive for accuracy and balance and will correct material errors upon verification. The views expressed reflect the analysis of the writer and not necessarily the views of every contributor or partner. Nothing in this article should be construed as legal advice. For legal assistance, please consult a qualified attorney or contact reputable legal service providers such as the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.

How this connects to Dearborn

Our city’s heartbeat is immigrant, Arab, Black, Latino, Muslim, Christian, and everyone else shoulder-to-shoulder. The Green vision that animated Dearborn’s activists for decades—human rights first, ecological sanity, and democracy without fear—offers a practical path: less incarceration, more services; fewer cages, more counsel; fewer transfers, more transparency. On this issue, we can be uncompromising and still be constructive. That’s Dearborn.