Bundled in tan prison garb and coats emblazoned with “ICE,” dozens of immigrant detainees at Miami Correctional Facility played cards and checkers in a common room outside their cells.
In another building, dozens more — largely from Latin American nations — participated in online court hearings and met with attorneys.
The 550-plus men currently being held on the sprawling campus about 65 miles north of Indianapolis also have access to two chow halls, indoor recreation space and religious services.
“We are making sure we are giving detainees the resources they need,” said Indiana Department of Correction Commissioner Lloyd Arnold.
And he is “absolutely confident that it’s not going to cost state of Indiana’s taxpayers a dime.”
He and Warden Brian English last week gave the Capital Chronicle an hour tour — the first news media inside the facility. No photos were allowed behind the walls.
The state is now in its third month of a two-year contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Indiana officials approved $16 million for facility upgrades in September after the state signed an agreement allowing up to 1,000 immigrants to be held there. The state will receive a daily payment of $291 per detainee — almost four times the $75 daily per-person cost for inmates at the Miami Correctional Facility.
It is a high-medium security prison holding only men.
At that meeting, Democratic legislators expressed concerns about civil rights and access to legal services. Since then, faith groups and nonprofits have gathered for monthly prayer vigils outside the prison along U.S. 31 near Grissom Air Reserve Base.
“We pray for those being detained and also the immigrant community overall,” said Senior Pastor Matt Landry of the Castleton United Methodist Church. “We want to raise concerns for how detainees and families are treated in the system.”
The next event is set for Jan. 26.
Inside the facility
The state received an initial $6 million payment from the federal government but nothing since then. DOC billed for October, but the payment was delayed due to the federal shutdown. November billing goes out soon.
The immigration detainees are kept separate from about 1,800 state prisoners who are held in an identical set of buildings.
As of Wednesday, about 811 detainees have moved through the center with a current census of 558. But it is constantly changing as ICE brings in more men from around the nation and sends others back to their home countries.
Arnold said none of the men have pending criminal cases; otherwise, they would be in county jails awaiting trial. They are there for immigration violations, though he acknowledged some of them served “serious time” in other jurisdictions, at other points in their lives.
Miami is considered a long-term facility by ICE, holding the men for three days or more. The average stay was expected to be about three weeks but is running at about a month now.
English, the prison’s warden, said he declined detainees a few times as operations with ICE were ramping up in October. But now buses come from the Indianapolis International Airport daily. The facility receives about 20 detainees a day and releases about seven a day.
English expects to be fully operational by summer, which largely depends on staffing.
Among the upgrades was the creation of an intake center out of a storage area. Buses pull directly up to the back of the building and the men are processed. That includes health screenings.
While the detainees aren’t allowed access to educational services, there is an area for religious services, like a Catholic Mass in Spanish. Visitors are allowed up to one hour a week.
If detainees are in their cells, they have televisions and computer tablets. The tablets can be used to call family, communicate with attorneys, order from the commissary, listen to controlled music and watch select movies. Prisoners have the same tablets.
The detainee cells open out onto a large area with tables where the men can socialize and play games. They get up to five hours of recreation time per week.
The outdoor basketball court is currently covered in snow, but an indoor court and billiards tables are available.
The recreation building also contains a large, locked area for detainees’ personal property.
English said because the men are being removed from the country, they bring many more belongings than traditional inmates.
He also thinks the detainees have a different outlook than the prisoners set to serve decades behind bars who might feel hopeless about their futures.
Bad reputation
Miami’s prison operations have been criticized for excessive violence and drug trafficking in recent investigations by the Indianapolis Star.
But English could think of only two fights in the immigration detention space.
“Every now and then bunkees get mad at each other,” he said.
Jeff Migliozzi, communications director at Freedom for Immigrants in Washington, D.C., said its hotline has received nearly 70 calls from people inside the Miami Correctional Facility since Dec. 1.
“People detained here are raising urgent issues that are inherent to the immigration detention system, including severe medical neglect, poor food, and physical abuse by guards,” he said.
DOC said it’s equipped to handle such concerns and provided this response to the general allegations:
“Transition into any facility can be stressful for detainees, and we expect concerns will be raised as a natural part of that process,” Arnold said. “The department has established grievance and reporting processes to ensure those concerns can be communicated and reviewed in accordance with policy. We remain committed to maintaining safe, secure, and humane conditions for all individuals housed at the facility.”
Migliozzi wasn’t surprised by the long average stay, noting President Donald Trump’s administration “is shifting many of ICE’s policies in an effort to hold more people indefinitely.”
“It’s important to note that while conditions are worsening amid a record number of people in ICE custody, these systemic issues inside detention have long predated this administration,” he said. “Immigration detention undermines our shared values of justice, freedom, and human dignity, which is why we must end this cruel practice.”
Staffing issues continueLandry, the pastor, said one thing the faith coalition always prays for — in addition to the detainees and family members caught in the immigration quagmire — is the overburdened staff at Miami.
Miami Correctional Facility on Dec. 17, 20205. (Photo by Niki Kelly/Indiana Capital Chronicle) One of the reasons the state had 1,000 open beds to offer up is that it couldn’t find enough prison guards and other staff members to operate the entire facility. The ICE contract boosts correctional officer pay from $24 to $28 an hour. DOC anticipated needing temporary staffing quarters on site, but it hasn’t been necessary yet. English said hiring has picked up — with 31 new officers currently approved and in the training process.
It takes about 150 staff members to run the detainee side every day.
The initial $16 million earmarked for upgrades, also went to more video equipment. The detainee side is averaging about 15 attorney appointments per day, and 30-plus court hearings.
English said most of the men have been in the country long enough to communicate in English but interpreters are available if needed.
“It has gone as well as we could expect,” he said.
Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.
