ICE opens detention center in Louisiana’s Angola prison

The Trump administration on Wednesday announced it is opening an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility at Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola Prison.

The new ICE facility, dubbed the “Louisiana Lockup,” will expand detention capacity by more than 400 beds in the coming months and is intended to “house some of the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a press release.

“If you are in America illegally, you could find yourself in CECOT, Cornhusker Clink, Speedway Slammer, or Louisiana Lockup. Avoid arrest and self deport now using the CBP Home App,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.

At a press conference Wednesday, Noem called the agreement with the state of Louisiana “unprecedented” and credited President Trump’s partnership with Gov. Jeff Landry (R), who she said offered space immediately when asked.

“He offered us a space that we could house these dangerous criminals and make sure they were never able to harm another child or family member in this country ever again,” Noem said.

At the press conference, Landry thanked state and federal partners for preparing the facility, which he said already holds 51 detainees and will expand to 208 by mid-September.

“While it is true that America is a country of immigrants, it is also a country of laws,” Landry said, adding that the facility is “not the panacea to our crime problem, but part and parcel of the solution.”

He said the facility aims to give “ICE a facility to consolidate the most violent offenders into a single deportation and holding facility.”

DHS noted in its press release that the facility is made possible by the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which designated funds to expand ICE detention capacity.