Oklahoma Voice v. Oklahoma Department of Corrections

Case Number: cv-2026-1121

Court: Oklahoma County District Court

Clients: Oklahoma Voice and The Frontier

Background: In October 2025, the private prison company CoreCivic announced that it was awarded a contract from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to reopen an Oklahoma correctional facility to house ICE detainees.  

The Department of Corrections released a partially redacted version of its contract with CoreCivic, which revealed that the state receives a monthly administrative fee of about $833,333 and is responsible for ensuring “the transfer and placement of” ICE detainees in the facility, among other duties. 

But the department has refused to release its intergovernmental contract with ICE, which would shed light on how the two agencies are working together on immigration enforcement, arguing that it can’t be disclosed under the state’s Open Records Act because it contains information that is confidential under the federal Freedom of Information Act. 

Leslie Briggs, the Reporters Committee’s Oklahoma-based attorney, filed this lawsuit on behalf of the Oklahoma Voice and The Frontier. The lawsuit argues that the contracts are public records under the ORA and asks the Oklahoma County District Court to order the Department of Corrections to release them.    

Quote: “DOC may not defer its obligations under the open records act to ICE,” Briggs said in a statement to the Oklahoma Voice and The Frontier. “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.”

Filings:

2026-05-06: Petition for relief for violations of the Oklahoma Open Records Act