Miami Correctional Facility currently houses around 550 immigrant detainees. Photo by Niki Kelly, Indiana Capital Chronicle.

By Niki Kelly
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANAPOLIS — Bundled in tan prison garb and coats emblazoned with “ICE,” dozens of immigrant detainees at Miami Correctional Facility played cards and checkers in a common room outside their cells.

In another building, dozens more – largely from Latin American nations – participated in online court hearings and met with attorneys.

Indiana Department of Correction Commissioner Lioyd Arnold.

The 550-plus men currently being held on the sprawling campus about 65 miles north of Indianapolis also have access to two chow halls, indoor recreation space and religious services.

Indiana Department of Correction Commissioner Lloyd Arnold and Warden Brian English last week gave the Capital Chronicle an hour tour – the first news media inside the facility. No photos were allowed behind the walls.

The state is now in its third month of a two-year contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Indiana officials approved $16 million for facility upgrades in September after the state signed an agreement allowing up to 1,000 immigrants to be held there. The state will receive a daily payment of $291 per detainee – almost four times the $75 daily per-person cost for inmates at the Miami Correctional Facility.

It is a high-medium security prison holding only men.

At that meeting, Democratic legislators expressed concerns about civil rights and access to legal services. Since then, faith groups and nonprofits have gathered for monthly prayer vigils outside the prison along U.S. 31 near Grissom Air Reserve Base.

The next event is set for Jan. 26.

Inside The Facility

The state received an initial $6 million payment from the federal government but nothing since then. DOC billed for October, but the payment was delayed due to the federal shutdown. November billing goes out soon.

The immigration detainees are kept separate from about 1,800 state prisoners who are held in an identical set of buildings.

Miami Correctional Facility has two identical units and sits on 200 acres of the former Grissom Air Force Base. Construction began in 1997 and was in two phases. Photo from Indiana Department of Correction

As of Wednesday, Dec. 17, about 811 detainees have moved through the center with a current census of 558. But it is constantly changing as ICE brings in more men from around the nation and sends others back to their home countries.

Arnold said none of the men have pending criminal cases; otherwise, they would be in county jails awaiting trial. They are there for immigration violations, though he acknowledged some of them served “serious time” in other jurisdictions, at other points in their lives.

Miami is considered a long-term facility by ICE, holding the men for three days or more. The average stay was expected to be about three weeks but is running at about a month now.

English said he declined detainees a few times as operations with ICE were ramping up in October. But now buses come from the Indianapolis International Airport daily. The facility receives about 20 detainees a day and releases about seven a day.

English expects Miami to be fully operational by summer, which largely depends on staffing.

Among the upgrades was the creation of an intake center out of a storage area. Buses pull directly up to the back of the building and the men are processed. That includes health screenings.

While the detainees aren’t allowed access to educational services, there is an area for religious services, like a Catholic Mass in Spanish. Visitors are allowed up to one hour a week.

If detainees are in their cells, they have televisions and computer tablets. The tablets can be used to call family, communicate with attorneys, order from the commissary, listen to controlled music and watch select movies. Prisoners have the same tablets.

The detainee cells open out onto a large area with tables where the men can socialize and play games. They get up to five hours of recreation time per week.

The outdoor basketball court is currently covered in snow, but an indoor court and billiards tables are available.

Miami Correctional Warden Brian English

The recreation building also contains a large, locked area for detainees’ personal property.

English said because the men are being removed from the country, they bring many more belongings than traditional inmates.

Miami’s prison operations have been criticized for excessive violence and drug trafficking in recent investigations by the Indianapolis Star.

Jeff Migliozzi, communications director at Freedom for Immigrants in Washington, D.C., said its hotline has received nearly 70 calls from people inside the Miami Correctional Facility since Dec. 1.

DOC said it’s equipped to handle such concerns.

Staffing Issues Continue

One of the reasons the state had 1,000 open beds to offer up is that it couldn’t find enough prison guards and other staff members to operate the entire facility. The ICE contract boosts correctional officer pay from $24 to $28 an hour. DOC anticipated needing temporary staffing quarters on site, but it hasn’t been necessary yet. English said hiring has picked up – with 31 new officers currently approved and in the training process.

Photo by Niki Kelly, Indiana Capital Chronicle.

It takes about 150 staff members to run the detainee side every day.

The initial $16 million earmarked for upgrades, also went to more video equipment. The detainee side is averaging about 15 attorney appointments per day, and 30-plus court hearings.

English said most of the men have been in the country long enough to communicate in English but interpreters are available if needed.