The Speedway Slammer, the new bright and shiny name given to yet another U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center, this one opening in Indiana.
1,000 beds at the Miami Correctional Facility will be made available to house the “worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens,” according to the Department of Homeland Security, following the One Big Beautiful Bill. DHS received funding for 80,000 beds to house more undocumented immigrants.
DHS announced plans for The Speedway Slammer on social media. The post appeared to be AI-generated, featuring an IndyCar-style vehicle with “ICE” written on it. The weirdest part? The car was also labeled No. 5, which happens to be the number of the one and only Mexican driver in the IndyCar series, Pato O’Ward, according to ESPN.
The idea of spaces made specifically to hold people who are often just trying to build a better life in America is scary. Knowing that this space is being made available in our home state is even scarier. It almost makes you question what is so special about our little state in the Midwest that makes us suitable for the home of the next Alligator Alcatraz.
Is it due to Indianapolis being the “Crossroads of America?” Or maybe to our Hoosier hospitality, with things like Visit Indiana that bring in tourists? Personally, I think the reason has more to do with our government.
But the question shouldn’t be “Why in Indiana?”. It should be “Why at all?”
After the ICE raids in California, many people of color claimed to be afraid to leave their homes, according to the Los Angeles Times. Will this fear hit Indianapolis? Has it already been here? What will people feel when the new detention center officially “welcomes” its detainees?
People should not be afraid to leave their homes. Children should not be terrified that their parents will never make it back home again. Students should not be afraid to attend classes. Hoosiers should not be scared of being detained, no matter their immigration status.
