The Trump administration is reportedly in talks with Louisiana officials to send immigrant detainees to the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, the country’s largest maximum security prison.
According to Nola.com, the immigrants would be housed in an unused wing that was closed in 2018 because of safety concerns, placing detained immigrants – many of whom have no criminal record – in close quarters with Louisiana’s most violent criminals.
If the plan moves forward, it would save the state the cost of building a new facility similar to Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz,” which can house up to 3,000 inmates in the Florida Everglades. Detainees being held at the Florida facility report worms in the food, toilets that don’t flush, flooding floors with fecal waste, and a mosquito infestation.
The entrance of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. (Photo by Giles Clarke/Getty Images)
Amid his crackdown on immigration, Trump and his allies have touted the Florida facility’s harshness and remoteness as fit for the “worst of the worst” and as a national model for how to get immigrants to “self-deport.”
Inside Angola’s Camp J
The backstory:
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Louisiana prison is the largest maximum security facility in the U.S. It spans 18,000 acres and offers tours to the public, as well as an annual rodeo in which inmates compete. Angola houses the state’s most violent criminals. According to the U.S. Justice Department, more than 60% of Angola inmates are serving life sentences and more than 20% are serving sentences of more than 20 years.
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The Advocate reports that immigrant detainees would be housed in Camp J. Camp J was once one of the most restrictive segments of Angola. It had more than 400 individual cells for solitary confinement and was closed in 2018 because of safety concerns
Dig deeper:
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry recently issued an executive order that will allow Angola to quickly make repairs and reopen Camp J. Landry said the wing is needed because of prison overcrowding. His executive order will allow the state to circumvent public bidding laws.
Federal and state officials declined to comment on the plan to house immigrants at Angola.
What’s next:
The Trump administration reportedly is planning for 450 immigrant beds at Angola. Plans could be announced as soon as next month, according to WSJ.
The Source: This report includes information from The Associated Press, Nola.com, The Advocate and The Wall Street Journal.