Civil Rights Coalition Sues Over Dangerous Conditions at Indiana ICE Facility
A coalition of civil rights organizations filed a class-action lawsuit Thursday challenging what attorneys describe as inhumane and unconstitutionally punitive conditions at an Indiana maximum-security facility where many Chicago-area immigrants are detained after federal arrests. The lawsuit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Immigrant Justice Center, and the MacArthur Justice Center, targets the Miami Correctional Facility in Bunker Hill, Indiana, located about 150 miles from Chicago.
Opened around 2001, the sprawling male prison operates simultaneously for regular state prisoners and immigration detainees. Federal officials have informally dubbed the site the “Speedway Slammer.” It belongs to a network of more than 250 immigration detention centers nationwide and has increasingly functioned as a regional pipeline for individuals swept up under aggressive federal deportation policies. Since 2025, at least two immigrants have died while in custody at the facility.
Medical Neglect and Severe Allegations Outlined in Federal Court
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division, the lawsuit lists several plaintiffs enduring extreme hardships. Among them is Cynthia Acevedo, a transgender immigrant from Guatemala who has reportedly gone months without consistent medication for epilepsy. The lack of treatment has caused her to suffer multiple severe seizures a week, resulting in physical injuries including broken teeth.
The complaint further alleges that Acevedo was sexually assaulted by another detainee after arriving at the Miami Correctional Facility. According to the court filing, staff failed to record her report of the assault for multiple days despite her immediate attempts to notify them, failed to conduct a medical examination or rape kit, and failed to provide preventative medication or testing for HIV.
Attorneys emphasize that these severe medical omissions extend beyond a single plaintiff. Kathleen Hickey, a staff attorney at the ACLU of Illinois who is helping lead the litigation, stated that other detained immigrants have similarly been denied critical HIV medications for months. Advocates argue that the population is trapped in an environment defined by inadequate healthcare, filthy living conditions, and insufficient food.
“People are suffering, people have died, and more people will suffer and die if those continue,” said Kathleen Hickey, a staff attorney at the ACLU of Illinois filing the lawsuit. “That’s why we brought this lawsuit.”
— Kathleen Hickey, ACLU of Illinois
Beyond medical neglect, the lawsuit details regular use of abusive and arbitrary punishments. These include solitary confinement, excessive lockdowns, officers using racial and anti-immigrant slurs, and the use of excessive force by personnel.
Expansion Agreements and Prior Legal Battles in Indiana
The conditions at the Miami Correctional Facility arrive against a backdrop of recent institutional expansion. In a news release issued last year, the Department of Homeland Security announced a partnership with Indiana to expand ICE detention space at the Bunker Hill prison by 1,000 beds. DHS noted that the agreement was made possible with funds from President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
Alexa Van Brunt, director of the MacArthur Justice Center’s Illinois Office, criticized the joint venture between state and federal authorities.
“The state of Indiana and the federal government are working together to create a human rights disaster in one of Indiana’s most dangerous prisons,” said Alexa Van Brunt. “The conditions are cruel and have resulted in the deaths of innocent people. Both the state and federal government must be held accountable for their heinous treatment of people locked inside Miami.”
— Alexa Van Brunt, MacArthur Justice Center
Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor Indiana state officials returned immediate requests for comment regarding the pending litigation. The facility itself carries a documented history of civil rights scrutiny. Lawyers involved in the current class action point to a previous legal battle where the ACLU of Indiana secured $1.2 million in settlements over inmate abuse inside the same prison. That earlier litigation began in 2021 following a lawsuit filed on behalf of inmate Jeremy Blanchard, a case that ultimately prompted dozens of other prisoners to file 30 more lawsuits against the Indiana Department of Correction over conditions in the facility’s “dark cells.”
