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Two local newsrooms, including The Frontier, are suing the Oklahoma Department of Corrections after the agency denied requests for records related to its contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  

The for-profit prison company CoreCivic announced in October that it had entered into an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections to house immigration detainees at its Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga. 

The Frontier and Oklahoma Voice claim in their lawsuit that the Department of Corrections is violating the Oklahoma Open Records Act for refusing to release its complete agreement with CoreCivic. The state agency also has an agreement with ICE that is part of the CoreCivic contract to monitor the company’s performance for the federal government.

The Department of Corrections released a partial version of its agreement with CoreCivic in November, which revealed that the state agency receives a monthly fee of $833,000 under the contract for detention and transportation services for detainees at the Watonga facility.  But the Department of Corrections still refused to release a copy of its intragovernmental services agreement with ICE, which would have more details about how the two agencies are cooperating. 

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Oklahoma County District Court. The Frontier and Oklahoma Voice are asking the court to rule that the documents are public records under state law and order the Department of Corrections to release them. A judge could also order the Department of Corrections to cover the newsrooms’ legal fees if they win in court. 

Leslie Briggs, an attorney for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, is representing the newsrooms in the lawsuit. 

“We are pleased to have the opportunity to represent the Oklahoma Voice and the Frontier in pursuing access to this important state contract between ICE and DOC, governing the re-opening of Diamondback Correctional Facility operated by CoreCivic,” Briggs said in a statement. “DOC may not defer its obligations under the open records act to ICE. DOC has an independent duty to produce the IGSA under state public records law and we intend to ensure the press and the public have access to records detailing the operation of any immigration facility operating in this state.”

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Two Oklahoma newsrooms take the Department of Corrections to court over ICE records

by Frontier Staff, The Frontier
May 6, 2026

<h1>Two Oklahoma newsrooms take the Department of Corrections to court over ICE records</h1> <p class="byline">by Frontier Staff, The Frontier <br />May 6, 2026</p> <p class=”has-drop-cap”>Two local newsrooms, including <em>The Frontier</em>, are suing the Oklahoma Department of Corrections after the agency denied requests for records related to its contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>The for-profit prison company CoreCivic announced in October that it had entered into an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Oklahoma Department of Corrections to house immigration detainees at its Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga.&nbsp;</p> <p><em>The Frontier</em> and <em>Oklahoma Voice</em> claim in their lawsuit that the Department of Corrections is violating the Oklahoma Open Records Act for refusing to release its complete agreement with CoreCivic. The state agency also has an agreement with ICE that is part of the CoreCivic contract to monitor the company’s performance for the federal government.</p> <p>The Department of Corrections released a partial version of its agreement with CoreCivic in November, which revealed that the state agency receives a<a href=”https://oklahomavoice.com/briefs/oklahoma-correctional-facility-to-house-federal-immigration-detainees/”> monthly fee of $833,000</a> under the contract for detention and transportation services for detainees at the Watonga facility.&nbsp; But the Department of Corrections still refused to release a copy of its intragovernmental services agreement with ICE, which would have more details about how the two agencies are cooperating.&nbsp;</p> <p>The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Oklahoma County District Court. <em>The Frontier</em> and <em>Oklahoma Voice</em> are asking the court to rule that the documents are public records under state law and order the Department of Corrections to release them. A judge could also order the Department of Corrections to cover the newsrooms’ legal fees if they win in court.&nbsp;</p> <p>Leslie Briggs, an attorney for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, is representing the newsrooms in the lawsuit.&nbsp;</p> <p>“We are pleased to have the opportunity to represent the Oklahoma Voice and the Frontier in pursuing access to this important state contract between ICE and DOC, governing the re-opening of Diamondback Correctional Facility operated by CoreCivic,” Briggs said in a statement. “DOC may not defer its obligations under the open records act to ICE. DOC has an independent duty to produce the IGSA under state public records law and we intend to ensure the press and the public have access to records detailing the operation of any immigration facility operating in this state.”</p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/two-oklahoma-newsrooms-take-the-department-of-corrections-to-court-over-ice-records/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.readfrontier.org&quot;&gt;The Frontier&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/www.readfrontier.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cropped-favicon.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://www.readfrontier.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=30520&amp;amp;ga4=289643089&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;

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Frontier Staff

The Frontier launched in 2015 as Oklahoma’s premier investigative outlet.
Reach Frontier staff by email at info@readfrontier.com