Reports: Immigrant Detainees May Be Sent to Louisiana’s Angola Prison

The Trump administration may house up to 450 immigrant detainees at Louisiana’s Angola prison, reopening a wing closed for safety concerns. The move, aimed at avoiding new construction costs, would place many non-criminal detainees alongside the state’s most violent offenders, echoing conditions at Florida’s controversial “Alligator Alcatraz” detention site.

The Trump administration is reportedly in discussions with Louisiana officials to house immigrant detainees at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, the largest maximum-security prison in the United States. According to Nola.com, the plan would involve reopening an unused wing of the prison, closed in 2018 over safety concerns, to hold about 450 immigrants.

Many of those detained would have no criminal record, yet would be placed within the same complex that houses Louisiana’s most violent offenders. Angola spans 18,000 acres, is home to more than 60% of inmates serving life sentences, and operates under intense security. The facility is known for its public tours and annual prison rodeo.

Officials say the move could save Louisiana the expense of constructing a new detention center similar to Florida’s controversial “Alligator Alcatraz,” a remote Everglades facility that can hold up to 3,000 people. Detainees at the Florida site have reported dire conditions, including contaminated food, malfunctioning toilets, flooding with human waste, and rampant mosquito infestations.

The proposed transfer to Angola comes amid the Trump administration’s broader immigration crackdown. Supporters have praised the Florida facility’s isolation and austere environment as a deterrent, suggesting it encourages immigrants to “self-deport.” Critics, however, warn that placing non-criminal detainees in a maximum-security setting raises human rights and safety concerns.

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If approved, the Angola plan would mark a significant shift in federal detention policy, placing immigrant detainees in a facility long associated with some of the harshest incarceration conditions in the nation.