Angie Craig, Peggy Flanagan Clash Over ICE Contractor Donation In Senate Race

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan are clashing over political money tied to CoreCivic, the private prison company that owns the shuttered Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, Minnesota.

Craig and Flanagan are both seeking the Democratic nomination in Minnesota’s open U.S. Senate race.

The Minnesota Star Tribune reported last week that the Department of Homeland Security appears to be moving ahead with plans to reopen the Appleton prison to detain immigrants. A federal contracting website posted a 148-page document outlining expectations for a "Prairie Detention Facility," according to the report.

The proposal does not directly name the Appleton prison, but it says the facility would support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s St. Paul field office for five years. The federal government is seeking a 1,600-bed detention facility, the same size as the idle Prairie Correctional Facility owned by CoreCivic, according to the Star Tribune.

Craig’s campaign accused Flanagan of benefiting from CoreCivic money donated to the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association, which has supported Flanagan’s U.S. Senate campaign by attacking Craig, according to Craig’s campaign.

"Don’t forget Peggy Flanagan accepted donations from CoreCivic as the head of the DLGA," Craig wrote on X. "Now they’re planning to open a new 1600 bed detention facility here in MN."

Politico reported that CoreCivic donated $25,000 to the DLGA in February 2024, during the early months of Flanagan’s tenure leading the group. A DLGA spokesperson told Politico the contribution was solicited by development staff in November 2023, before Flanagan assumed the chair role in December, but the donation arrived after she became chair.

"Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan continues to mislead Minnesotans about the millions of corporate dollars she accepted as chair of the DLGA, including CoreCivic, an ICE detention center contractor," Antoine Givens, Campaign Communications Director, told Patch in a statement.

"It’s laughable that the head of an organization, tasked with fundraising, would not know where the organization was raising money from."

"This is either a convenient half-truth or gross negligence, and probably both, but regardless, Minnesotans deserve better," Givens added.

Flanagan’s campaign rejected Craig’s attack.

"Rep. Craig is trying to deceive voters because she doesn’t want to talk about her own record of voting to support ICE and taking millions of dollars from the same corporate and special interests that are driving up costs for Minnesota families," Flanagan campaign spokesperson Lexi Byler said in a statement to Patch.

"Peggy Flanagan is the only candidate in this race refusing corporate PAC money, and no amount of misinformation from Rep. Craig will change that fact."

A Flanagan campaign spokesperson emphasized to Politico that Flanagan did not personally solicit money from CoreCivic and would urge the DLGA to return it immediately.

Candidates’ Records On Prison, ICE

In 2016, Flanagan voted against advancing HF3223, a Minnesota House bill that would have authorized housing offenders in nonpublicly owned facilities.

A House Session Daily report at the time said the bill would have permitted housing state prisoners in privately owned facilities and noted that supporters said reopening the 1,600-bed Prairie Correctional Facility would help the Appleton area’s economy.

Meanwhile, Flanagan has criticized Craig for being one of 46 Democrats who backed the Laken Riley Act, which allows for the detention of undocumented immigrants accused of certain crimes.

Craig has criticized the Trump administration’s plans for the Appleton facility. In an October 2025 letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Craig raised concerns about the proposed ICE detention center and asked federal officials for answers about why the facility was being pursued in Minnesota.

The Prairie Correctional Facility has been idle since 2010. CoreCivic is one of the largest private prison contractors in the United States and already operates nearly a dozen ICE detention facilities nationwide, the Star Tribune reported.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correctly attribute a quote.