The Louisiana State Penitentiary—known as Angola—is infamous for its history of brutality, solitary confinement, and forced labor.

Now, the Trump administration and ICE are detaining immigrants there.

Angola was built on a former slave plantation and once earned the nickname “the bloodiest prison in America.” For decades, civil rights advocates have raised alarm about inhumane conditions inside its walls. It’s a facility designed for the state’s most violent offenders—not for housing people accused of immigration violations, many of whom have no criminal convictions at all.

This decision is morally indefensible and legally questionable.

ICE has already transferred dozens of detainees into Angola’s notorious Camp J unit—a site that was closed in 2018 due to unsafe and degrading conditions. Officials say they plan to expand capacity to hold 400 immigrants at this facility. They claim it will only be used for “high-risk” individuals, but in recent months, ICE has detained peaceful students, activists, and asylum seekers across Louisiana.

No one—immigrant or otherwise—should be detained in a place like Angola.

We call on:

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry
Congressional oversight committees
 

to immediately:

• Shut down ICE’s new detention program at Angola
• Prohibit the use of decommissioned prison units like Camp J for immigrant detention
• Transfer all detainees to safer, non-carceral facilities with access to legal counsel and medical care.
   

Angola’s legacy is one of exploitation and dehumanization. Repeating that legacy under a new name—“Louisiana Lockup”—is not just a policy failure. It’s a national disgrace.