APPLETON, Minn. — Some community members are pushing back on plans to reopen an Appleton prison to serve as an immigration detention center and held a rally outside City Hall Tuesday.

The Prairie Correctional Facility, the only private prison in Minnesota, closed in 2010. Its owner, CoreCivic, says some staff remain on site and help maintain the building that can house about 1,600 people.

In a new statement to KARE 11, a CoreCivic spokesperson wrote, " We continue to explore opportunities with our government partners for which our Prairie Correctional Facility could be a viable solution."

Clergy, immigrant leaders, and community members also called for humane alternatives to immigrant detention and delivered a letter to local officials, asking for a meeting with community members in

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