Officials in a rural west Tennessee town voted Tuesday to approve agreements to turn a former prison into an immigration detention facility operated by a private company, despite objections during a contentious public meeting.

The five-member Board of Aldermen in Mason, plus Mayor Eddie Noeman and Vice Mayor Reynaldo Givhan, met in a fire station garage to discuss converting the closed West Tennessee Detention Facility into a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center run by CoreCivic Inc.

Also present were a few dozen vocal, angry members of the public who oppose allowing ICE to house immigrants in Mason who have been taken into custody.

The first vote of the meeting resulted in approval for a contract with CoreCivic to resume operating the facility, which was closed in

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