The Trump administration will send up to 1,000 migrants to an expanded prison in Indiana dubbed the Speedway Slammer.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the prison, which appears to have been named after the state’s motorsport industry, said the facility will “house some of the worst criminal aliens arrested by ICE”.
The detention facility is the latest creatively-named project from the Trump administration set to open as part of Donald Trump’s efforts to carry out the largest mass deportation in US history.
Last month, Florida unveiled Alligator Alcatraz, a newly built 3,000 capacity prison constructed on the swampy site of an abandoned airstrip deep in Florida’s Everglades.
Announcing the expansion of Miami Correctional Facility in Indiana, Kristi Noem, the US Department of Homeland Security Secretary, said:
The Miami Correctional Facility is a maximum-security prison located at the former Grissom Air Force Base about 70 miles north of Indianapolis.
It has a capacity of up to 3,100 people. Annie Goeller, chief communications officer for the Indiana Department of Correction, previously said part of the facility had not been filled because of a staffing shortages.
“We are proud to work with president Trump and secretary Noem as they remove the worst of the worst with this innovative partnership,” said Indiana Governor Mike Braun.
“Indiana is taking a comprehensive and collaborative approach to combating illegal immigration and will continue to lead the way among states.”
In a press release, the DHS said the agreement was an outcome of Mr Trump’s “one big beautiful bill”, which set out funding for 80,000 new beds for ICE.
The department’s X account also shared an AI generated image of an open-wheel race car with “ICE” emblazoned on its side and rear wing.
The Hoosier State has already supported the Trump administration’s efforts to expand ICE capacity.
Last month Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, announced Camp Atterbury, a military base around 40 miles from Indianapolis, would be used to temporarily hold migrants for DHS, according to previous reports.
Since the Alligator Alcatraz opened last month, hundreds of people have been rounded up and sent to the makeshift encampment. Deportation flights have taken off directly from the facility.
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