Tennessee-based corrections management services provider Corrections Corporation of America has signed a new contract to manage detainee populations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the North Georgia Detention Center in Hall County, Georgia with a total design capacity of 502 beds.

Under a five-year Inter-Governmental Service Agreement between Hall County, Georgia and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Corrections Corporation will house up to 500 ICE detainees at the facility. The company will lease the former Hall County Jail from Hall County, Georgia. The lease has an initial term of 20 years with two five-year renewal options and provides Corrections Corporation the ability to cancel the lease if it does not have a management contract. The company currently anticipates opening the facility during the second quarter of 2009 and expects the facility to be substantially occupied by the end of 2009.

The company said it currently partners with ICE to manage detainees at twelve Corrections Corporation facilities.

John Ferguson, CEO of Corrections Corporation, said: "We are proud to expand our partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The North Georgia Detention Facility will serve ICE's need for detention capacity as part of the government's strategy to deter illegal immigration and protect public safety."