LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — The federal government is expressing support for a proposed ICE detention center in Leavenworth.

Late Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion supporting CoreCivic, the Tennessee-based company that operates for-profit detention centers. The DOJ's filing said Leavenworth's city leaders have unduly interfered with this process.

CoreCivic's detention center closed in 2021, but the corporation plans to reopen it – using it to detain undocumented immigrants awaiting deportation.

Scott Peterson, Leavenworth city manager, won't comment directly on this case or the DOJ's filing, but on Wednesday, he said this move won't change the city's approach to the legal process.

Court documents filed by the DOJ accuse Leavenworth's city council of "unlawful and aggressiv

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