FCI Waseca (low-security)
Federal Correctional Institution, Waseca (FCI Waseca) was a low-security federal prison for female inmates located in Waseca, Minnesota. The facility operated as a federal correctional institution from 1995 until 2016, when it was converted into a detention center.
History
FCI Waseca opened in 1995 as a low-security facility designed to house female federal inmates. The institution was located in Waseca, Minnesota, a small city in south-central Minnesota approximately 80 miles south of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. During its operational period, the facility served as one of several federal correctional institutions for women in the United States prison system.
In 2016, the Federal Bureau of Prisons announced the closure of FCI Waseca as a traditional correctional institution. The facility was subsequently repurposed and converted into a federal detention center, representing a significant shift in its operational mission from long-term incarceration to temporary detention of individuals awaiting trial or deportation proceedings.
The conversion reflected broader strategic decisions by the Bureau of Prisons regarding facility utilization and the changing needs of the federal prison system. The repurposing of the Waseca campus allowed the facility to continue serving federal law enforcement purposes while adapting to evolving detention requirements.