LaSalle Corrections

LaSalle Corrections is a privately held American corrections-services company founded in 1997 by Billy McConnell. The company began with the construction and operation of the women's unit of the Richland Parish Detention Center in Mangham, Louisiana. The facility was financed by two investor groups, one led by McConnell and another associated with pharmacist Doug White. From this initial project, LaSalle developed a business model centered on operating correctional and detention facilities for public authorities, particularly Louisiana parishes and their sheriff's departments. LaSalle's operating footprint has been concentrated in the southern United States. Its facilities have included correctional centers in Louisiana and Texas, as well as detention facilities in Georgia and Arizona. Many of its Louisiana operations are associated with parish governments, which are the state's equivalent of counties, and local sheriff's departments. These arrangements place the company within a public-private corrections system in which local governments contract for the construction, management, or housing of incarcerated people. Revenue connected to state and federal inmate-placement funding has become significant for some participating parishes. The company expanded beyond conventional prison operations during the first Trump administration, when it entered the migrant-detention sector and opened facilities intended for immigration detention. By 2020, reference material described LaSalle as operating 13 migrant detention facilities: six in Louisiana, one in Georgia, one in Arizona, and five in Texas. The same period's reporting described an overall network of 18 prisons with capacity for approximately 13,000 prisoners across Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. The distinction between prisons, local detention centers, and immigration facilities is important because LaSalle's portfolio spans several types of custodial contracts rather than representing a single standardized facility model. Facilities associated with LaSalle have included the Catahoula, Jackson Parish, Richland Parish, Richwood, River, and Winn correctional centers in Louisiana; the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia; and the Prairieland, Rolling Plains, West Texas, and Willacy County facilities in Texas. In Arizona, the San Luis Regional Detention Center has been listed among its operations. Bowie County Correctional Center in Texas was associated with LaSalle from 2010 to 2021, according to the cited reference material. LaSalle's business has attracted public scrutiny because of its role in the private operation of prisons and immigration detention facilities. In April 2025, several facilities operating under contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were reported to be holding populations above contractual capacity limits. The facilities identified in that reporting included San Luis Regional Detention Center, Richwood Correctional Center, Winn Correctional Center, and Prairieland Detention Center. The available reference material does not establish a company-wide financial impact, a final regulatory disposition, or a change in ownership. LaSalle remains characterized as an active, privately held corrections operator, although detailed information about its corporate structure, leadership beyond its founder, finances, and current facility portfolio is limited in the supplied sources.

LaSalle Corrections was established in 1997 by Billy McConnell. Its first reported project was the women's unit of the Richland Parish Detention Center in Mangham, Louisiana. Financing for the Richland project came from two investor groups, including one led by McConnell and another associated with pharmacist Doug White. The project established the pattern that would characterize much of LaSalle's subsequent activity: private investment and management connected to facilities operated under the authority of a local parish and sheriff's department. Louisiana's parish-based governmental structure has been central to LaSalle's operating model. Parishes can contract for detention capacity and facility management, while state and federal funding for housing inmates can contribute to local-government revenue. LaSalle consequently developed as a contractor working within public corrections systems rather than as a consumer-facing brand. Its activities have involved operating facilities, providing custodial services, and housing people held under local, state, federal, or immigration authority. Over time, LaSalle expanded its network beyond the original Louisiana operation. Facilities associated with the company have included correctional centers in Louisiana and Texas and detention centers in Georgia. The cited reference material states that, by 2020, LaSalle operated 18 prisons in Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas with combined capacity for approximately 13,000 prisoners. The portfolio included Catahoula Correctional Center, Jackson Parish Correctional Center, Richland Parish Detention Center, Richwood Correctional Center, River Correctional Center, and Winn Correctional Center in Louisiana; Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia; and Prairieland Detention Center, Rolling Plains Detention Center, West Texas Detention Facility, and Willacy County Regional Detention Center in Texas. Bowie County Correctional Center was associated with the company from 2010 through 2021. During the first Trump administration, LaSalle made a significant strategic move into migrant detention. It opened six new facilities for that purpose and, by 2020, was described as operating 13 migrant detention facilities. The cited geographic breakdown was six in Louisiana, one in Georgia, one in Arizona, and five in Texas. The San Luis Regional Detention Center in Arizona was among the facilities listed in connection with the company's wider detention portfolio. This expansion placed LaSalle in the politically sensitive immigration-detention market in addition to its established prison and local-detention work. The company's operations have been subject to scrutiny associated with private incarceration and immigration detention. In April 2025, several facilities under contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were reported to be above their contractual capacity limits. The named sites were San Luis Regional Detention Center, Richwood Correctional Center, Winn Correctional Center, and Prairieland Detention Center. The available source does not provide a final finding, penalty, settlement, or subsequent corporate response, so the longer-term consequences of the reports cannot be established from the supplied material. LaSalle is described as privately held and active. Publicly available information in the supplied references is limited regarding its headquarters, ownership structure, revenues, leadership team, and current contract portfolio. Its history is therefore best understood through its facilities and public-sector relationships: it began with a parish detention project in Louisiana, expanded across the South, and later became a substantial operator in immigration detention.

• 2025

  Capacity-limit reports at ICE-contracted facilities

  [1]LaSalle Correctionsen.wikipedia.org

  Several LaSalle facilities operating under ICE contracts were reported to exceed contractual capacity limits.

• 2021

  Bowie County Correctional Center association ends

  [1]LaSalle Correctionsen.wikipedia.org

  The listed association between LaSalle Corrections and Bowie County Correctional Center ended in 2021.

• 2020

  Reported prison and migrant-detention network

  [1]LaSalle Correctionsen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material described LaSalle as operating 18 prisons in Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas with capacity for about 13,000 prisoners, alongside 13 migrant detention facilities.

• 2010

  Bowie County Correctional Center association begins

  [1]LaSalle Correctionsen.wikipedia.org

  Bowie County Correctional Center in Texas was associated with LaSalle Corrections from 2010.

• 1997

  Company founded and first facility developed

  [1]LaSalle Correctionsen.wikipedia.org

  Billy McConnell founded LaSalle Corrections, and the company developed and operated the women's unit of the Richland Parish Detention Center in Mangham, Louisiana.

A private corrections contractor serving parish, county, state, federal, and immigration-detention needs in the southern United States.

• Corrections management · 1997

  Correctional facility operations

  LaSalle operates prisons, correctional centers, and detention facilities on behalf of public authorities. Its work can include managing custody operations and housing incarcerated people under parish, county, state, federal, or other public contracts. The supplied references do not specify the full range of ancillary services provided at each site.

• Immigration detention

  Immigration detention services

  LaSalle expanded into migrant detention during the first Trump administration and opened facilities intended for immigration detention. By 2020, it was described as operating 13 such facilities across Louisiana, Georgia, Arizona, and Texas, including facilities under contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

• Expansion into migrant detentionStrategy

  Background

  The company expanded beyond conventional prison and local detention operations during the first Trump administration as demand for immigration-detention capacity increased.

  Action taken

  LaSalle opened six new facilities for migrant detention and was described as operating 13 migrant detention facilities by 2020.

  Aftermath

  The expansion made immigration detention a substantial part of LaSalle's operating footprint. Later reports identified capacity concerns at several ICE-contracted facilities, but the supplied material does not establish a final regulatory outcome.

  Source

1. 1LaSalle Correctionsen.wikipedia.org