The Trump administration is working to expand immigration detention capacity across the country using a model of Florida’s troubled facilities.
Indiana’s “Speedway Slammer” becomes the next immigration detention center
Homeland Security Secretary Christie Nom has announced a new nickname for expansion to the Miami Correctional Facility near Indianapolis.
- The Trump administration is increasing immigrant detention capacity amid rising immigrant arrests.
- Critics argue that the nickname is trivial to the harsh conditions of ice detention.
- Indiana Governor Mike Brown is helping to work with federal immigration enforcement.
The motorsports company behind the Indy 500 says it has been stolen from the guard by the Trump administration, which brands a new immigration detention center as “speedway slammers.”
Following the August 5 announcement, up to 1,000 detained migrants have detained immigrants in the largest security prison. Homeland Security has promoted the contract online with mash-up photos featuring IndyCar, which features an impressive detention center in the background.
The Republican-led state volunteered to host the next immigration detention center in the Trump administration after Florida established a detention facility called “Alligator Alcatraz.”
DHS secretary Kristi Noem has been promoting the administration’s efforts to rapidly expand immigration detention capabilities amid a surge in immigrant arrests.
“If you’re illegally in America, you can find yourself in Speedway Slammer in Indiana,” Noem said in an August 5th post on X.
The “Speedway Slammer” nickname is in line with the White House efforts to sell its growing immigration enforcement efforts to Americans. The name refers to one of the Indianapolis Motor Speedways, one of Indiana’s most famous facilities.
Speedway owner Pensuke Entertainment said in a statement to Indystar, part of the USA Today network, it “doesn’t know of any plans to incorporate our images as part of the announcement.”
“Consistent with our approach to public policy and political issues, we communicate our preference not to take advantage of IP advances in relation to this issue,” the statement mentions the company’s intellectual property.
Immigration advocates say the nickname obscures the dire situation documented in ice detention in recent months, dehumanizing the people who lived there.
According to US immigration and customs enforcement data, the average population of ice custody increased from under 40,000 in January to 57,000.
Indiana Gov. Mike Brown in January ordered national law enforcement to “completely cooperate” with the federal crackdown on illegal immigration, including undocumented immigration investigations, arrests and detention.
Indiana has already committed to using empty space at the Miami Correctional Facility at the former Grissom Air Force Base about 70 miles north of Indianapolis to use detained migrants for their homes.
According to Annie Goller, IDOC’s chief communications officer, the facility has around 3,100 beds, some of which have not been used due to a shortage of staff.
Expansion of immigrant detention
The Trump administration is looking to expand immigration detention capabilities through local partnerships, civil contracts and military bases.
Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas became the first military base to build an ice detention camp. The administration is also paying attention to bases in Indiana.
On July 15, Defense Secretary Pete Hegses outlined plans to temporarily hold detained immigrants using Camp Atterbury, south of Indianapolis. According to D-Ind’s André Carson, the Trump administration wants to hold up to 1,000 ice detainees in military facilities.
Brown said as of August 5, the Trump administration had not established a timeline on when military bases would be used for detention camps.
“When it comes to our state, we’ll work together… because we live in detainees who broke the law after they went illegal,” Brown told Indystar. “We will work with the federal government.”
Brittany Carloni, a reporter for Indystar, contributed to this article.
Indystar Reporter Noe Padilla can be accessed at npadilla@indystar.com.
