End ICE Detention at Miami Correctional

Why “End ICE Detention at Miami Correctional”?

First, what is actually happening at Miami Correctional?

The State of Indiana currently holds approximately 800 ICE detainees at Miami Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in Bunker Hill, Indiana, located just north of Kokomo. The facility, nicknamed the “Speedway Slammer” by Trump administration officials, is one of the largest ICE detention centers in the Midwest.

The Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) signed a two-year contract with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to house up to 1,000 ICE detainees at a time in Miami Correctional. To prepare for this contract, the state invested $15.8 million to renovate the prison. The federal government is not reimbursing Indiana for these renovations; instead, DHS is supposed to pay the IDOC $291.24 per detainee per day, a rate approximately three times higher than normal state per-diem rates. However, as of May 2026, the federal government was severely behind on reimbursements. It is not yet clear based on publicly available information whether the state has lost money to date; however, any calculation of the finances must take into account pending and future litigation regarding the conditions detainees are experiencing.

In response to investigations revealing severe medical backlogs, falsified records, and detainee deaths, Governor Mike Braun directed IDOC in July 2026 to conduct an internal audit and review of the facility.

Second, who is being held at Miami Correctional?

Nationally, over 70% of ICE detainees have never been convicted of a crime, and less than 5% have been convicted of a violent crime. This stands in direct contrast to Governor Braun’s previous statements that immigration enforcement should focus on “the worst first”. Under current contract terms, detainees at Miami Correctional are adult men classified as “medium-maximum security” who are being held for longer than 72 hours. However, many detainees have little or no criminal history:

Local Hendricks County Resident: A man married to a U.S. citizen with four U.S. citizen children, who lived in the U.S. for over 20 years without committing a crime, was detained at Miami Correctional for months while his wife struggled to support the family.
Lorth Sim: A 59-year-old Cambodian refugee who survived the Khmer Rouge regime and lived in the U.S. since 1983 was detained at Miami Correctional, where he subsequently died in February 2026.
Tuan Van Bui: A 55-year-old Vietnamese national living in Philadelphia who was held at the facility until his death in April 2026.
Andranik Grigoryan: A refugee who arrived in the U.S. as a child in the late 1990s and was held at Miami Correctional before winning a federal habeas petition in May 2026. Currently suing the Indiana Department of Corrections for medical neglect.

Why are Hoosiers organizing to “End ICE Detention at Miami Correctional”?

1. Horrific Conditions, Medical Neglect, and Inmate Deaths

Miami Correctional is plagued by chronic understaffing, violence, and severe health care failures:

Severe Staff Shortages: According to a Department of Correction officer statement, Miami Correctional lacked 34% of necessary staffing. Despite amending its contract with healthcare provider Centurion Health for nearly $3 million to add 29 staff members for detainees, internal rosters showed the facility had only 19 nurses (instead of the required 23 for detainees alone) and 1 mental health professional (instead of 3).
Preventable Deaths: Two ICE detainees died within six weeks of each other in early 2026. Lorth Sim, a diabetic, was denied his prescribed metformin, causing his blood sugar to surge to 300 mg/dL before he died on February 16, 2026. Tuan Van Bui died on April 1, 2026, after collapsing in his unit; witnessing detainees reported emergency medical assistance took between 15 and 45 minutes to arrive.
Falsified Medical Backlogs: Centurion Health reported zero weekly medical backlogs to the state over several months to avoid $5,000 weekly fines. However, internal company emails revealed actual backlogs of 379 patients for chronic care and 73 for sick calls in a single week, with regional managers ordering staff to hide stacks of medical request forms from state inspectors.
Civil Rights Violations & Abuse: Detainee Andranik Grigoryan filed federal lawsuits against Centurion and IDOC officers after missed anti-seizure medication caused him to suffer a severe seizure and head injury, after which correctional officers pepper-sprayed him in his cell while he was still injured.
Facility Violence & Rampant Drug Trade: Miami Correctional is one of Indiana’s deadliest prisons, accounting for 9 out of 22 state prison homicides between 2019 and 2025. The facility suffers from a widespread gang-run drug trade, guard contraband smuggling, and dozens of overdose emergencies annually.

2. Unconstitutional & Illegal Mandatory Detention

The federal government’s 2025 shift toward mandatory detention of immigrants—regardless of length of residency or criminal history—has caused an unprecedented flood of habeas corpus petitions challenging detentions as unconstitutional:

Nationally, federal judges ruled over 4,400 times between October 2025 and February 2026 that the federal government was illegally detaining individuals.
In Indiana, federal courts received more than 340 habeas corpus petitions in the first 100 days of 2026 with more being filed daily.
Detainees filing petitions in the Northern District of Indiana routinely wait over three months for a judicial decision, enduring months of confinement in dangerous conditions while awaiting a ruling on their unlawful detention.

3. Devastating Impact on Innocent Children and Families

“Every Detention Bed Represents a Family in Crisis.”

Detention deprives households of primary breadwinners, forcing spouses into financial crisis while caring for traumatized children.
The Indiana Organizing Project’s Mutual Aid Network has supported dozens of families impacted by ICE detention and/or recent deportation across Indiana. Nearly every single one of these families includes US citizen children, and the spouses are often US citizens as well.
Taxpayers absorb these costs despite far more cost-effective and humane alternatives, such as GPS monitoring and regular ICE check-ins.

So, why Miami Correctional and not another location?

While ICE detention occurs across five other Indiana counties (Clark, Clay, Clinton, Cass, and Fulton), Miami Correctional is the largest ICE facility in the state and the only state-run facility housing detainees. Because it is operated by the State of Indiana, every Hoosier carries a shared responsibility for the conditions inside.

Ending ICE detention at Miami Correctional will not automatically release all ~800 current detainees, but eliminating this detention space blocks state-level expansion to 1,000 beds and prevents future harm to innocent families. Nationally, limiting detention capacity has already proven effective: after peaking at ~73,000 detainees in January 2026, national ICE detention numbers declined to ~60,000 by April 2026 and currently sit at ~65,000 detainees as of July, 2026.

How to Take Action

Join thousands of Hoosiers in communicating to IN Department of Correction Commissioner Lloyd Arnold that it’s time to “End ICE Detention at Miami Correctional” by CLICKING HERE.

If the link does not work for you, simply send an email to larnold@idoc.in.gov with the subject line END ICE DETENTION AT MIAMI CORRECTIONAL.

How to Get Involved

Support Hoosier families impacted by ICE detention and push back against state-sponsored immigration detention by filling out the volunteer sign-up form: Indiana Organizing Project Volunteer Intake Form