Civil rights lawsuit challenges 'inhumane' conditions at Indiana immigration detention center

Civil Rights Coalition Files Class-Action Lawsuit Over “Inhumane” Conditions at Miami Correctional Facility

A coalition of civil rights organizations filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court challenging what they describe as inhumane and unconstitutionally punitive conditions inside an Indiana maximum-security prison where federal immigration authorities house detainees. The legal action targets the Miami Correctional Facility in Bunker Hill, Indiana, located roughly 150 miles from Chicago, where federal agents routinely transfer individuals swept up under aggressive deportation directives.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, South Bend Division, lists among its plaintiffs Cynthia Acevedo, a transgender immigrant from Guatemala. According to court documents, Acevedo has spent months without consistent medication for epilepsy, enduring multiple severe seizures weekly that have caused physical injuries, including broken teeth. The complaint further alleges that Acevedo was sexually assaulted by another detainee after her arrival at the facility, and that prison officials failed to take her report for days, conduct a rape kit examination, or provide necessary preventative HIV medications and testing.

Attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, the National Immigrant Justice Center, and the MacArthur Justice Center brought the challenge following at least two immigrant deaths in custody since 2025. Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor Indiana state officials returned immediate requests for comment on the allegations.

The Miami Correctional Facility opened around 2001 and simultaneously houses regular state prisoners alongside immigration detainees. Federal officials have informally referred to the sprawling male prison as the “Speedway Slammer.” It operates within a network of more than 250 immigration detention centers across the country, serving as a regional detention pipeline.

In a news release issued last year, the Department of Homeland Security announced a partnership with Indiana to expand immigration detention space at the facility by 1,000 beds, funded through what the agency termed “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Kathleen Hickey, a staff attorney at the ACLU of Illinois who is working on the case, warned that ongoing conditions pose an immediate threat to human life.

People are suffering, people have died, and more people will suffer and die if those continue.

Hickey said.

Beyond medical neglect involving HIV and epilepsy treatments, the lawsuit details extensive systemic abuses. Attorneys point to arbitrary and severe punishments, including solitary confinement, excessive lockdowns, frequent use of physical force by officers, and the directed use of racial and anti-immigrant slurs. Alexa Van Brunt, director of the MacArthur Justice Center’s Illinois Office, stated that both state and federal entities share responsibility for the environment inside the prison.

The current litigation arrives against a backdrop of established legal liability at the same institution. Lawyers involved in the new class action previously secured $1.2 million in settlements with the Indiana Department of Correction regarding inmate abuse at the facility. That earlier litigation began in 2021 with a lawsuit filed on behalf of inmate Jeremy Blanchard, which subsequently prompted dozens of other prisoners to file roughly 30 additional lawsuits detailing brutal conditions within the prison’s segregation units, known locally as dark cells.

A sign indicating the Miami Correctional Facility in Bunker Hill, Indiana — Photo: chicago.suntimes.com

As the case proceeds in South Bend, attorneys seek immediate court intervention to halt the alleged constitutional violations and secure accountability from both local and federal authorities overseeing the Bunker Hill facility.