Mason, Tennessee Mayor Eddie Naeman, and Christa Poindexter, yell at each other during a Tuesday meeting of the Mason Board of Alderman. Naeman supported the creation of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center; Poindexter did not. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

Officials in the small West Tennessee town of Mason on Tuesday approved a contract with private prison corporation CoreCivic to operate the former West Tennessee Detention Facility as an immigration detention facility.

The Mason Board of Mayor and Aldermen called a special meeting to review two contracts: one between the town and CoreCivic, and one between the town and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

After a chaotic exchange between aldermen and a crowd of constituents and residents of nearby

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