Ice Detainees Held in Miami & Leavenworth Federal Prisons
- thatbopguy
- May 30
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 15
Let’s be real for a second. If you’ve got a loved one in the federal prison system, you already know how hard it is just to keep up with the basics of federal prison —calls, visits, commissary. Now, throw this in the mix: the BOP is quietly turning some of its prisons into holding centers for immigrants.
Yeah, while we're all waiting for updates on staffing, home confinement or release programs, the government is out here using places like Miami FDC and FCI Leavenworth to house immigrant detainees—and trust me, it’s not going smoothly.
🧊 Miami FDC: Not Just for Pretrial Inmates Anymore
Miami's Federal Detention Center used to be for people waiting on trial or sentencing. But now? According to Miami New Times, they’ve packed in hundreds of immigrant detainees under ICE custody
These folks aren’t even being charged with crimes—but they’re stuck in the same cells, under the same rules, and without a clear path out. Sound familiar? They will be segregated from other inmates which means they won't have a chance to learn the inmate Lingo.
This Matters Because:
More overcrowding increased prison fights
Fewer resources for current inmates
Even more delays and chaos in the system
ℹ️ READ: 7 Ways To Support Someone In Prison
🏚️ FCI Leavenworth:
A Whole Other Mess
Over in Kansas, FCI Leavenworth is being used the same way. The ACLU of Kansas has been calling out some scary stuff—like people being held after they’ve won their immigration cases. Others are stuck in lockdown for days, with almost no legal help or outside contact (ACLU Kansas, May 2025).
⚠️ Oh, and CoreCivic Wants Back In
Remember how private prisons were supposed to be done with federal contracts? Yeah… not so fast.
CoreCivic—yep, them—is trying to reopen the old Leavenworth Detention Center as a place to hold immigrants. Even though the DOJ ended their contract in 2021 and local groups have fought hard to keep it closed, a judge recently tossed out a lawsuit trying to stop it.
Why does that matter to us? Because if more facilities get handed over to ICE or private companies, the BOP is going to be stretched even thinner. That could mean:
Longer wait times for halfway house placements
Slower movement on home confinement
Less oversight and support inside the walls
💡 So What Do We Do?
I don’t have all the answers, but I know this - if we don’t stay informed and educated about things like First Step Act and BOP lolicies and Laws we can't prepare and move accordingly.
That’s why we started connecting with other families who are in the same boat. We built Fed Family Support as a space where we could share what’s happening, swap info, and support each other through all the confusion.
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🤝 Come Join Us
If you’ve got a loved one in federal prison, or you’re just trying to make sense of all this, come talk to us. We’re not lawyers or officials—we’re just real people who get it.
Let’s keep each other informed. Let’s look out for one another. And let’s make sure our loved ones don’t get lost in a system that’s changing without telling us a damn thing.
You don’t have to do this alone. 💛
