350,000 gather for Indy 500 while ICE holds immigrants captive in 'Speedway Slammer'

Two people have died there so far this year.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is home to our community’s most famous event. Hundreds of thousands of people come every year from all over the world to enjoy the Indianapolis 500. It’s a wonderful tradition for so many, and we deserve to feel proud to host such a spectacle. Thus, it is with great sadness that I write today about the “Speedway Slammer”, a detention facility used to house those in ICE detention, while continuing to leave a stain on our community.

Last year, our state signed an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to house up to 1,000 ICE detainees at the Miami Correctional Facility. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem called it the “Speedway Slammer.”

The Indiana Department of Corrections invested nearly $16 million in taxpayer money to renovate Miami Correctional. At the time DOC Commissioner Lloyd Arnold stated, “We would not be doing it if there were not a built-in profit.” Unfortunately, based on Indiana Capital Chronicle reporting, Indiana has actually lost millions of taxpayer dollars on this project through March of this year. It’s quite possible that this “built-in profit” that Commissioner Arnold describes never materializes.

I am one of many Hoosiers who speak with ICE detainees at the Miami Correctional on a near-daily basis. In the past three months, two individuals have died there, Lorth Sim and Tuan Van Bui. Congressman Andre Carson stated at a press conference in April that detainees told him during a Congressional oversight visit that one of those deaths occurred in part because Miami Correctional staff did not respond urgently enough to the person’s medical emergency.

For those of us who interact with detainees regularly, these deaths came as no surprise. Detainees regularly report to us that they cannot access basic medical care and that the conditions are the worst they’ve experienced as they’ve often been bounced from facility to facility while in ICE detention.

One might say, “Well, they deserve it. They’re criminals.” In fact, approximately 5% of ICE detainees were ever convicted of a violent crime, while over 70% of ICE detainees have never even been charged with a crime.

One might also say, “Well, they’re illegals. It’s their fault for coming here illegally.” First, it’s important to note that the current administration has taken away legal status from over 1.6 million immigrants and is currently trying to take away legal status from over 330,000 Haitian and Burmese immigrants. Second, there’s no reason to detain non-criminals while they are in deportation proceedings. It’s more expensive for taxpayers, more harmful for children and families, and does nothing to make our communities safer.

The Indiana Organizing Project, which I am proud to lead, has also created a network of volunteers to support local families who have a loved one currently detained by ICE or recently deported. Every single one of these families that we support have US citizen children suffering due to the sudden loss of their parents. Several of the families we support have US citizen mothers who would be out on the streets without the support of our network and our partner organizations. How is this ‘America First’?

While I agree with most Americans that the Biden Administration’s border policies were misguided, that moment has now passed. The border is now secure, and we must decide what to do about the millions of non-criminal, mixed-status families who reside in our country. Mass deportations are an option that results in separating families, traumatizing children, and causing unnecessary suffering to millions of US citizens and other immigrants who are here legally.

I know because I witness this suffering right here in Central Indiana every day. This is not who we are as Hoosiers. Hoosiers value family and the well-being of children. So while racing fans cheered on their favorite drivers at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend, we must also bear witness to the unthinkable cruelty our neighbors are enduring inside the Speedway Slammer.

It’s time we stand up for our values. To celebrate our traditions, yes, but to also end the senseless harm occurring through the ICE detention system. It’s time for Governor Braun and his administration to end this sad chapter in Indiana history and close the “Speedway Slammer” once and for all.

By Stuart Mora

Indiana Organizing Project