This week, the North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin, Michigan, officially reopened—not as a prison, but as one of the largest ICE detention centers in the country, with 1,800 beds.

This is a huge expansion of Michigan’s immigration detention system, and it’s happening in a facility run by GEO Group—a private prison corporation with a long record of human rights violations and abuse. GEO is now under a multi-year contract with ICE and expects to generate tens of millions annually from detaining immigrants in our state.

We’re sharing this from our partners at @michiganimmigrant because it’s urgent: MIRC is currently the only free legal call available from detention in Michigan. That means thousands of people now locked inside North Lake may have no access to legal support unless we act.

At VAAC, we know that systems of incarceration—whether called prisons, jails, or “processing centers”—are part of the same machinery that strips people of their rights, divides families, and silences entire communities. These systems are designed to take away power—including the power to vote, organize, and be heard.

This isn’t just about immigration—it’s about justice, due process, and the future of our democracy.

Learn more. Get involved. Share widely: michiganimmigrant.org