The Louisiana prison chosen to hold immigration detainees because of its notoriety was once described as “the bloodiest prison in America” and has witnessed mass riots, inmate violence, and systemic brutality.
The “Louisiana Lockup” was revealed on Wednesday as the latest federal immigration detention site, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem saying the facility had “absolutely” been selected for its reputation.
The “Camp 57” facility, located on the grounds of the former Angola slave plantation, is designed to hold up to 400 detainees, with 51 already transferred as of early September.
Why It Matters
ICE has faced criticism due to allegations of poor, inhumane conditions in its detention facilities, including overcrowding and inadequate medical care.
This announcement is part of a wider effort under the Trump administration to expand immigration detention infrastructure across Republican-led states. Similar facilities include Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz,” Indiana’s “Speedway Slammer,” and Nebraska’s “Cornhusker Clink.” These moves are encouraged by provisions in the “One Big Beautiful Bill.”
The bill allocates $45 billion to expand detention space to nearly 100,000 beds, $14 billion for transportation and deportation operations, and $8 billion to hire 10,000 additional deportation officers. Further billions are earmarked for technology upgrades, partnerships with state and local law enforcement, and retention incentives for ICE personnel. Officials say the infusion of funds is designed to ramp up deportations as the administration seeks to meet President Trump’s goal of removing one million people within a year.
What To Know
Noem described Angola’s “legendary” reputation as consistent with the administration’s strategy to use strong enforcement as a deterrent toward migration.
Louisiana’s Republican Governor Jeff Landry said on Wednesday that the facility was located next to a lake “full of alligators” and bordered by a “forest with bears.”
“Criminal illegal aliens beware: Louisiana Lockup is where your time in America ends,” Landry added.
One sign at the entrance reads: “You are entering the land of new beginnings.”
Angola’s history as a former slave plantation turned maximum-security prison has led to a reputation as one of America’s harshest penitentiaries.
The prison occupies some 18,000 acres, according to the Angola Museum and historical records, and it was later operated as a prison farm with extensive forced-labor practices.
The facility houses the state’s death row and an execution chamber; the prison also operates a small museum that displays the electric chair once used in Louisiana executions, historically nicknamed “Gruesome Gertie.”
In 1951, a group of inmates, later dubbed the “Heel String Gang”, cut their Achilles tendons in a desperate protest against conditions, drawing national attention to the prison’s treatment of inmates, according to the Louisiana Prison Museum.
By the early 1960s, reforms in Angola had begun to stall as budgets were cut and conditions deteriorated, the museum website says. Violence surged, and by 1962, the prison had earned the label “the bloodiest prison in the South,” per the museum website. Stabbings became routine, and in the early 1970s, inmates sued the state over conditions, prompting a federal court to order sweeping reforms.
The state resumed executions in 2025 and carried out a nitrogen-hypoxia execution in March, the first in Louisiana after a years-long pause.
What People Are Saying
Kristi Noem said in a press statement on Wednesday : “Thank you to Governor Landry for his partnership to help remove the worst of the worst out of our country. 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.”
Jeff Landry said in a press statement: “Louisiana Lockup will give ICE the space it needs to lock up some of the worst criminal illegal aliens—murderers, rapists, pedophiles, drug traffickers, and gang members—so they can no longer threaten our families and communities. This facility fulfills President Trump’s Make America Safe Again promise.
What Happens Next
The facility will be used to detain migrants apprehended by the Republican-led administration.
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