DHS Announces New Illegal Immigrant Detention Center ‘Speedway Slammer’ Coming to Indiana

First, there was Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz.” Now, there will soon be Indiana’s “Speedway Slammer,” as Gov. Mike Braun becomes the second governor to partner his state with the federal government to continue the mass removal of illegal immigrants by expanding detention bed space.

Few details about the facility were released but the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that this facility will increase Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) detention space by 1,000 beds, made available at the Miami Correctional Facility near Bunker Hill, Indiana. “Speedway Slammer” references Indiana’s racing history, hosting the Indianapolis 500 every year.

“Today, we’re announcing a new partnership with the state of Indiana to expand detention bed space by 1,000 beds,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote Aug. 5 on X.

She thanked Braun for his partnership and urged any illegal immigrants viewing her social media post to take steps to self-deport rather than risk ending up at the new detention facility.

“If you are in America illegally, you could find yourself in Indiana’s Speedway Slammer. Avoid arrest and self deport now using the @CBP Home App,” she said.

DHS said that ICE was partnering with Indiana Department of Corrections, and the “Slammer” would be home to “some of the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens arrested by ICE.”

It also credited the One Big Beautiful Bill for making the agreement possible, as it fully funded the DHS’s 287(g) program, which allows local law enforcement to assist in enforcing immigration law. The One Big Beautiful Bill also secured funding for 80,000 new beds for ICE’s detainment and deportation efforts.

“We are proud to work with President Trump and Secretary Noem as they remove the worst of the worst with this innovative partnership,” Braun said in a press release. “Indiana is taking a comprehensive and collaborative approach to combating illegal immigration and will continue to lead the way among states.”

“Speedway Slammer” will be the second facility to be created, following Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz that opened up in the middle of the Everglades off of US-41 at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport inside the Big Cypress National Preserve.

Several hundred illegal immigrants have already been flown out of there, including at least 100 who were directly deported out of the country, and state officials seek to increase its capacity to 4,000 beds.

“The whole purpose is to make this be a place that can facilitate increased frequency and numbers of deportations of illegal aliens, that is the goal,” Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis said of Alligator Alcatraz on July 25.

“And one of the reasons why this was a sensible spot is because you have this runway that’s right here. You don’t have to drive up an hour to an airport. You go a couple of thousand feet, and they can be on a plane and out of here.”