Recent ICE enforcement actions across the United States have raised concerns beyond the alienation of migrant communities. Over the past few months, detainees at Louisiana’s ICE detention facilities reported extremely poor living conditions.
These claims raised serious doubts about whether the facilities are fit for human habitation. According to 4WWL, detainees identified several critical issues within the Louisiana facility, including unchecked rodent infestations, inadequate and delayed medical care, unclean surroundings, and poor hygiene.
In a December interview with WWL Louisiana, one detainee described her experiences during six months in the facility.
Vilma Palacios stated, “It just wasn’t clean at all, and we just weren’t provided things that we needed all the time. There was even a point where there were rats and mice in the dorms. We had to, like, find a way to build a trap and trap them.”
She further noted that authorities refused to supply basic hygiene items, including shampoo and toilet paper.
“The complaints against the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center details a failure to provide necessities… In addition to this, the complaint alleges that the processing center’s staff actively create a hostile environment for detainees.”https://t.co/O5BAi5JtRy
— DAP/ADOS TRIBE🇺🇸 (@Black_Action) September 28, 2025
However, the Department of Homeland Security offered a contrasting perspective. The department denied the allegations and stated, “This is the best healthcare that many aliens have received in their entire lives.”
This is not the first report of mistreatment in ICE facilities, particularly in Louisiana. Last year, a New Orleans-based lawyer alleged that his client experienced mistreatment at the Prairie ICE Processing Center.
The lawyer stated at a press conference that his client was not allowed to change clothes and lacked access to clean drinking water. The detainee was also denied the sacrament during detention.
In response to ongoing allegations, U.S. Representative Troy Carter visited the South and Central Louisiana ICE detention facilities, both of which have received numerous complaints. Carter confirmed that reports of inhospitable living conditions were accurate.
“Federal judge orders DHS to improve conditions at California ICE detention center” …DEEP STATE ACTOR OVERREACHING FEDERAL JUDGES DON’T HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO INTERFERE WITH IMMIGRATION ICE CAPTURE & DETENTION UNLESS THEY ARE IMMIGRATION JUDGES !!! https://t.co/tJLKFpXPEb
— Dennis Insley (@redroof2000) February 12, 2026
He observed several issues, including women being denied access to hygiene products, unheated dormitories, and lights left on throughout the night. Two pregnant women were also among those affected by these conditions.
Additional reports from other Louisiana detention facilities have raised further concerns. In one facility, detainees reported severe mouse infestations and persistent issues with clogged, unsanitary toilets. Flooded washrooms led to human waste accumulating in the corners of detainees’ rooms.
A detainee at the recently opened immigration detention center in Louisiana State Penitentiary reported that the facility’s drinking water was contaminated with metal shavings. As a result, detainees relied solely on limited bottled water for drinking.
When asked to comment on the increasing difficulties faced by detainees, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, in her statement, said, “These claims that there are subprime conditions at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center are FALSE.”
“In fact, ICE has higher detention standards than most US prisons that hold actual US citizens. All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, toilet paper, hygiene products, and have opportunities to communicate with lawyers and their family members,” she added.
