Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs | https://www.dhs.gov/
This week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the state of Indiana opened the Speedway Slammer, a new facility intended to detain criminal non-citizens arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The center is designed to hold individuals with serious criminal records, including gang members, domestic abusers, and armed robbers.
The opening of the Speedway Slammer follows the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, which increased funding for ICE’s 287(g) program and provided resources for an additional 80,000 detention beds.
“The Speedway Slammer is housing some of the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens including serial criminals who are gang members, domestic abusers, those arrested for weapon charges, and armed robbers,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Secretary Noem is grateful for Governor Braun and for his partnership to help remove the worst of the worst out of our country. If you are in America illegally, you could find yourself in Indiana’s Speedway Slammer, Louisiana Lockup, Alligator Alcatraz, Cornhusker Clink, or CECOT. If you come to our country and break our laws, we will find you, we will arrest you, and you will never return.”
Among those currently held at the facility are Gabriel Carbajal Zendejas from Mexico—a former member of both the Latin Kings street gang and Hells Angels motorcycle gang—whose criminal record includes battery causing bodily harm and possession of cocaine.
Other detainees include Rami Jalal Naisan from Iraq with convictions ranging from aggravated assault to identity theft; Ali Mahmoud Daoud from Somalia with a history that includes assault with a box cutter; William Segade Herrera from Cuba convicted on multiple drug and theft charges; Efrain Estrada-Gonzalez from Mexico with convictions for burglary and vehicle theft; and Festo Lubala from the Democratic Republic of Congo arrested for offenses such as assault on a police officer and counterfeiting.
The Speedway Slammer is part of DHS's broader strategy to address immigration enforcement through expanded detention capacity under recent legislative changes.
