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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Trump Admin's Heinous Branding Of An Indiana Detention Facility Is Getting Major Backlash
On Tuesday, the Trump administration unveiled another disturbing nickname for an immigrant detention facility — this time in Indiana. 'If you are in America illegally, you could find yourself in Indiana's Speedway Slammer,' Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in a post on X. DHS then shared an image of a race caradorned with ICE lettering and bearing a No. 5 label, which is the number for Pato O'Ward, the only Mexican driver in the IndyCar series. Both posts allude to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which famously hosts the Indy 500 each year, and is located roughly 75 miles from a newly announced detention site. They also come as MAGA voters have gleefully welcomed Republicans' shocking moniker for the 'Alligator Alcatraz' facility in the Everglades — and point to how Trump officials have used these names to make light of their cruel practices. In a press release, Noem said the agency would be partnering with Indiana to detain as many as 1,000 immigrants at the state's Miami Correctional Facility. The arrangement is similar to the one the administration used in Florida: Under a policy known as 287(g), federal authorities can work with state and local officials on expanding immigration enforcement, including detention. In Indiana's case, it won't be building a new facility,but housing people in vacant beds at an existing one. Noem's branding attempts have generated significant backlash given how casually the agency is referring to an immigrant detention facility, which plays a key role in Trump's violent and hardline enforcement practices. Additionally, the graphic containing O'Ward's car number hasbeen criticized as racist since it appears to single him out, as federal agents have targeted Mexican immigrants and other people of color. The use of the speedway imagery has been contested as well, with IndyCar requesting that its intellectual property not be utilized in this way. 'It caught a lot of people off guard. Definitely caught me off guard,' O'Ward said on Wednesday of the DHS image. 'I was just a little bit shocked at the coincidences of that and, you know, of what it means... I don't think it made a lot of people proud, to say the least.' IndyCar also pushed back in a Wednesday statement. 'We were unaware of plans to incorporate our imagery as part of yesterday's announcement,' the organization said. 'Consistent with our approach to public policy and political issues, we are communicating our preference that our IP not be utilized moving forward in relation to this matter.'The town of Speedway, Indiana, which is home to the famous racetrack, put out a statement noting that it hadn't been involved in the naming process, either. 'An AI generated image of a car with 'ICE' on the side does not violate anyone's intellectual property rights,' a DHS spokesperson said in a response to IndyCar. 'DHS will continue promoting the 'Speedway Slammer' as a comprehensive and collaborative approach to combating illegal immigration.' DHS' actions follow Noem's statements describing 'Alligator Alcatraz' as amodel that the agency intends to replicate across multiple states due to what she says are cost savings and convenience the federal government can get out of these partnerships. The Florida facility has been condemned for the inhumane treatment of detainees there, including a lack of water to bathe in, sweltering temperatures, and unreliable access to counsel. Related... Judge Orders Temporary Halt To 'Alligator Alcatraz' Construction In Florida Members Of Congress Sue Trump Administration For Access To ICE Detention Centers FEMA Says It's Sending $608 Million To States To Build Migrant Detention Centers
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
IDOC prison to house up to 1,000 immigrant detainees as part of effort to ramp up arrests
The Indiana Department of Correction will work to make available up to 1,000 beds at the Miami Correctional Facility for immigrant detainees, Gov. Mike Braun's office announced Aug. 1. This is one of several agreements between state agencies and immigration officials to ramp up arrests and detention of undocumented immigrants in Indiana — part of an ongoing collaboration with the federal government to execute President Donald Trump's plan for mass deportations. State law enforcement officers, including Indiana State Police troopers, can now arrest and detain people for immigration violations, duties normally left to federal officers, under an agreement to participate in the 287(g) program, according to Braun's office. The program authorizes local and state police officers to enforce immigration laws, including arresting and detaining people in the country illegally who are accused of or convicted of crimes. At least four other local law enforcement agencies have previously signed up to participate. Indiana Department of Correction officers also now have the authority to identify and deport immigrants incarcerated at IDOC facilities and to perform other immigration enforcement duties, according to Braun's office. Miami Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison located at the former Grissom Air Force Base about 70 miles north of Indianapolis, can house up to about 3,100 men. Annie Goeller, chief communications officer for IDOC, said part of the facility has not been filled because of staffing shortage. In January, Braun signed an executive order directing state law enforcement agencies "fully cooperate" with the federal crack down on illegal immigration, including investigating, arresting and detaining undocumented immigrants. "That commitment has not wavered and Gov. Braun is ready to deploy any and all resources to assist President Trump and ICE," said Molly Craft, Braun's deputy chief of staff. 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 their cases are pending. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has relied on a large network of jails, state and federal facilities to hold immigrant detainees facing deportation. 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. Jail data shows population at local jails has skyrocketed during the Trump administration. Clay County in Brazil, just outside of Terre Haute, is home to one of the largest ICE detention centers in the Midwest. In 2024, Clay County Jail, which has been housing ICE detainees since 2013, held about 1,000 people facing immigration enforcement, according to jail data. In the first five months of this year, more than twice as many immigrants have already been detained at the jail. Marion County has more modest, albeit also rising numbers. In 2024, the Marion County Adult Detention Center held more than 500 ICE detainees, according to jail data. In the first five months of this year, that number has already reached 700. Two other ICE detention centers in the state are in Clark and Clinton counties. Camp Atterbury to house up to 1,000 ICE detainees The Trump administration is already planning to use Camp Atterbury, a military training facility south of Indianapolis, to house ICE detainees, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported last month. A spokesperson for Democratic U.S. Rep André Carson told IndyStar that few of the congressman's questions about the plan have been answered. However, his office said the Department of Homeland Security indicated in writing that Camp Atterbury, once used to house World War II prisoners of war and more recently newly arrived Afghan refugees, is being prepared to hold up to 1,000 ICE detainees. It's still unclear when the base will be repurposed as an immigration detention camp. Neither ICE nor the Indiana National Guard responded to an IndyStar inquiry about the matter. Camp Atterbury is in Edinburgh, a town of roughly 4,400 people along Interstate 65. The federally owned military training base, licensed to and operated by the Indiana National Guard, sits on more than 34,000 areas west of the interstate and U.S. Route 31. Area churches and immigration advocates have already started preparing for what could come. About a week after the news broke, Columbus Community United, a grassroots coalition, held a July 29 community meeting to discuss the plan for Camp Atterbury and offer support to the local immigrant community. The Rev. Felipe Martinez, of First Presbyterian Church in Columbus, said speakers advised immigrant neighbors of their rights and offered guidance about how mixed-status families could create an emergency plan if a loved one is detained by ICE. Martinez said the group also has begun strategizing about how to support people who might end up at Camp Atterbury. He and several other religious leaders intend to contact the base's leadership to let them know of their desire to support the emotional and spiritual needs of detainees. He's hoping to leverage past relationships cultivated with the base when his church and others helped Afghan refugees housed at the base after they arrived in the country. In 2021, government officials and aid organizations transformed the military training site into a temporary home for some of the men, women and children who fled Afghanistan as the Taliban swept across the country in August. "We have experienced Camp Atterbury as a place of hospitality," Martinez told IndyStar. "It is jarring to experience this phase." IndyStar reporter Noe Padilla contributed. Contact IndyStar reporter Kristine Phillips at (317) 444-3026 or at kphillips@ This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Gov. Mike Braun plans to use 'all resources' in deportation efforts
