The Department of Homeland Security paid $495 million for a Minnesota immigration detention facility that its seller, CoreCivic, had previously offered to the state for $75 million — a gap of more than six times that has now triggered a Senate investigation.

Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), who is preparing to lead the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, sent letters this week to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and to CoreCivic, the private prison company that sold the Prairie Correctional Facility to the federal government. The letters demanded that both parties preserve every record tied to the transaction.

What is the committee investigating?

Hassan's letters say the committee is examining whether the purchase involved "improper influence, corruption, or other violations of federal law." That's the framing, and it's broad. In her letter, Hassan stated plainly: "The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is investigating whether federal spending by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was subject to improper influence, corruption, or other violations of federal law."

The $495 million price tag was roughly six times the amount CoreCivic previously sought from Minnesota for the same facility, according to Hassan's letter to the company. That discrepancy is the core of the probe. A 6.6x markup on the same asset, within a short window, invites questions about how the valuation was reached and who shaped the deal.

The senator is seeking records covering the facility's valuation, acquisition, financing and operation. Specifically, her request covers:

• Appraisals and valuation documents
• Negotiation records and contracts
• Communications with DHS officials
• Communications with White House officials

The request names two White House figures directly: "border czar" Tom Homan and chief of staff Stephen Miller. Putting senior West Wing staff on a records-preservation notice signals the committee wants the paper trail to run all the way up.

What else is in the letters?

Hassan also cited findings from the Government Accountability Office (Congress's audit arm) on DHS spending for failed detention initiatives. Her letters referenced allegations involving Corey Lewandowski, a former senior adviser to then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and another private detention contractor, GEO Group. The letter noted reports that the Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into Lewandowski related to DHS contracting.

That context matters. The committee isn't looking at one deal in isolation — it's testing whether a pattern of procurement problems at DHS extends into this purchase.

Why the urgency for CoreCivic?

The investigation lands as CoreCivic is pushing ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the DHS agency that runs detention operations) to close more sales before the political window narrows. Democrats take control of Congress in January, and a chamber led by Hassan's committee changes the oversight math considerably.

"We would urge the ICE administration to move quickly," CoreCivic President and CEO Lucibeth Mayberry said during the company's quarterly earnings call Thursday, according to the Tennessee Lookout. "They have a need for capacity. We have the capacity. There's no reason to wait."

How much money is at stake?

The numbers are already material. Brentwood, Tennessee-based CoreCivic reported $1.3 billion from the sale of four detention facilities to DHS during its most recent quarter, a haul that helped lift its third-quarter financial results. The Trump administration has been expanding immigration detention, and CoreCivic has been a direct beneficiary of that expansion.

Mayberry said CoreCivic remains in preliminary discussions with ICE about additional facility acquisitions, describing such purchases as an important part of the agency's detention strategy.

For DHS and the White House, the immediate question is narrower: preserve the records. For CoreCivic, the stakes are larger — a Senate committee, led by a senator who has already locked onto the price discrepancy, is now asking how a $75 million ask became a $495 million sale.