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Indianapolis Star
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
'Deepens Indiana's complicity': Immigrant rights groups criticize 'Speedway Slammer' plans
Immigrant advocacy groups are raising the alarm about new plans to use a maximum-security prison north of Indianapolis to house immigration detainees facing deportation, accusing local and state officials of "complicity" in the Trump administration's "inhumane" treatment of undocumented immigrants. Gov. Mike Braun's office announced earlier in August that up to 1,000 undocumented immigrants will be housed at the Miami Correctional Facility, a men's prison located on the former Grissom Air Force Base about 70 miles north of Indianapolis. The facility has a capacity for up to 3,100 men, but it has been only partially filled. The announcement came shortly after revelations that the Trump administration is also planning to house up to 1,000 ICE detainees at Camp Atterbury, a military training facility south of Indianapolis. State and federal officials have promoted the partnership as a way to remove "the worst of the worst" from the country. Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem dubbed Miami Correctional the "Speedway Slammer," a moniker that prompted some pushback from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But immigrant advocates condemned the partnership as a "cruel" way to target, detain and deport undocumented immigrants regardless of criminal history, according to a joint statement from local and national organizations. Turning Miami Correctional and Camp Atterbury into massive ICE detention centers could turn Indiana into a "new regional hub for ICE detention" and dramatically escalate arrests of immigrants in Indiana and in the Midwest, the groups said. "The decision to increase ICE detentions through the Miami Correctional Facility 'Speedway Slammer' and Camp Atterbury deepens Indiana's complicity in a system that tears families apart and inflicts long-term harm," Sayra Perez, organizer at the Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance, said in the statement. "Our state's growing role in ICE's detention and deportation machine is a direct attack on immigrant Hoosiers — our coworkers, students and neighbors." A continuing surge in arrests, coupled with a new federal policy that disqualifies immigrants from bond hearings, has created an increased demand for more bed spaces and detention facilities. In the past, immigration judges have allowed immigrants who are not considered a threat or a flight risk and have community ties to be released while they fight deportation. But the Trump administration has circumvented the years-long practice. Advocates say this means more and more immigrants — regardless of criminal history — will be detained for longer periods of time while they fight deportation. "The inevitable increase in the number of Hoosier immigrants detained will further put pressure on legal service providers as well as the Chicago and Indianapolis Immigration Courts to adjudicate cases, despite the fact that many immigration judges have either resigned or been fired since March," said Hannah Cartwright, an attorney at Mariposa Legal, an Indianapolis nonprofit that represents immigrants. "As a result, the Trump Administration is effectively eliminating due process for Hoosier immigrants as a practical matter and further entrenching a mass deportation system in the midwest.' ICE has relied on a large network of jails and state, federal and privately operated facilities to hold immigration detainees. In Indiana, four county jails, including Marion County, have contracts with the U.S. Marshals Service to house ICE detainees. The federal government pays the local jails a per diem rate for each detainee, as well as transportation and meal costs. Clay County Jail, which has been housing immigration detainees since 2013 and significantly expanded its capacity in recent years, is one of the largest ICE detention centers in the Midwest.
Indianapolis Star
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
Here's what we know about ICE sightings in Lawrence and Indianapolis
A week after anti-immigration protests broke out in Los Angeles, residents of Indianapolis began reporting sightings of federal agents stopping and arresting people throughout the city. While federal agents associated with the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement have been operating in Indianapolis since the start of President Donald Trump's administration, residents believe that operations have been more frequent and public-facing this week. "These seem to be targeted operations, pulling over specific vehicles," reads a social media post from the Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance. "They are showing up in groups of larger unmarked vehicles." "We urge you all to be vigilant in the mornings as they are targeting our community members as they go to work, between the hours of 5:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.," the post read. The IndyStar investigated several of the claims from this week to confirm the validity of the operations. Multiple sightings of federal agents near North Tibbs Avenue and West 10th Street started to appear on social media early morning on June 12. A video was posted on Facebook that appeared to show a man being arrested by plain-clothed federal agents along West 10th Street and North Centennial Street at about 6:50 a.m. It appeared the man was inside a stopped work van. Seven unmarked vehicles and six federal agents appear to be assisting with detaining the man. It's unclear what agency the law enforcement officers represented. IndyStar asked the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department if its officers were involved. The department stated its officers did not participate in nor were aware of federal activity in the vicinity. IndyStar reporters received security camera footage from a resident in the area, which showed several unmarked vehicles driving around the neighborhood starting at 6 a.m. before the camera captured the stop at about 6:50 a.m. The work van could be seen traveling westbound on 10th Street when a black Jeep Cherokee flashed concealed red and blue police lights to have the driver of the van pull over. The hidden lights sat inside the vehicle above the car's rearview mirror. Shortly after being pulled over, two other unmarked vehicles appear on screen, also with flashing lights. It's unclear if the arrest was targeted or if it started as a traffic stop. IndyStar reached out to the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement Indianapolis field office and asked if the department had been conducting operations on June 12. The department did not respond to IndyStar's question by the time of publication. Another post circulating on social media showcases images of law enforcement agents, one of whom had an "FBI" patch on his vest, conducting an apparent arrest on Tibbs Avenue. The arrest occurred about a mile away from what residents saw on West 10th Street earlier that day, and it appears one of the vehicles, a Black Ford Explorer, was present at both incidents. It's unclear at the time of publication how many people may have been detained in these incidents. On June 11, images circulated online showing that ICE activity may have occurred near 42nd Street and Richelieu Road in Lawrence. A since-deleted social media post shared around 7:30 a.m. depicted several photos of men wearing vests that said "Police ICE." Lawrence Police Department said it was not aware of or involved in any ICE arrests in the city. IndyStar reporters spoke with neighbors in the area who confirmed law enforcement activity earlier in the day. One of the neighbors said she was leaving for work and saw men wearing "Police ICE" vests in front of unmarked vehicles. She also saw several men sitting on the curb as law enforcement agents talked among each other. The business owner who operates in the neighborhood said he caught video of law enforcement activity in the area around the time that neighbors witnessed men being detained by apparent federal agents. Although it is unknown how many people were detained on June 11, one Guatemalan man was booked into the Marion County Jail with an ICE hold later that day. On the same day, three men from Indianapolis were booked into the Hopkins County Jail and detention center in Kentucky with ICE holds. ICE officials did not respond to IndyStar questions about it at the time of publication
