TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — At Wednesday morning’s Indiana Budget Committee meeting the Indiana Department of Corrections asked for more than $15 million for capital improvements at Miami Correctional Facility in order to house immigration detainees.
Department of Corrections Commissioner Lloyd Arnold addressed the committee and said the facility has struggled with staff numbers and about half of the facility, around 1,200 beds, has been shut down since 2021.
“A lot of it will be used for housing because we utilize our staff across the state to come to Miami, until we get people hired, as we start bringing in detainees”, Arnold said. “Our ask is just to do structure changes, equipment stuff that we need to be up and operational.”
Commissioner Arnold said they have been working closely with ICE out of Indianapolis and Chicago. Senator Fady Qaddoura asked if that meant Indiana officers would be involved in the work on the street.
“Will you, your staff, Indiana State Police, or any other agency be partnering and working on the streets with ICE to go to churches, elementary schools, and other places to pull people off or to arrest them”, Qaddoura said.
Arnold responded and said they don’t have any plans to use officers for that reason, but they will do what they are directed to do by the federal government.
State Representative Ed DeLaney questioned the training of the officers. He said the reputation of the state of Indiana is at stake.
“I’m very concerned with the treatment of people that are about to leave my country”, DeLaney said.
Commissioner Arnold responded and said that extra training will be in place.
“There are ACA standards, American Correctional Association standards that we do, but also some additional standards that the federal government wants us to uphold. We’ve actually have a training plan in place to make sure all of our staff that will be holding the detainees have that training and will be qualified to do so.”
The meeting ended with representative Gregory Porter asking for the topic to be removed from the agenda, but a vote of 3-2 kept it in.
Commissioner Arnold said the facility will house only male detainees, no women or children.
Comments