Overview

• The lawsuit, filed in Baton Rouge on behalf of Oscar Hernandez Amaya, claims ICE selected Angola to impose punitive conditions in violation of constitutional protections including the Double Jeopardy clause.
• Plaintiffs describe hunger strikes and squalid conditions at the newly opened “Louisiana Lockup,” citing mold, dust, foul or black water, and shortages of medical care and basic supplies.
• The ACLU argues some detainees should be released because the government failed to carry out removal within six months, invoking a 2001 Supreme Court ruling that immigration detention must be nonpunitive.
• Officials including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry defend the choice of Angola as a secure site for the most dangerous detainees and dismiss abuse allegations as a false narrative.
• State and federal authorities say the refurbished unit can hold up to 400 people, positioning it within a broader expansion that includes new facilities in Indiana and Nebraska and coincides with litigation over Florida’s Everglades center.