Federal immigration authorities are jailing illegal migrants convicted of incredibly serious crimes under a new partnership with Louisiana, the latest in a growing list of state collaborations with the Trump administration.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday unveiled the opening of “Louisiana Lockup,” a new facility within the Louisiana State Penitentiary that has expanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention space by more than 400 beds. Of those currently being locked up at the new site, more than 50 individuals have been convicted of heinous offenses, according to a list exclusively shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Among those jailed are illegal migrants convicted of murder, rape, sexual exploitation of minors and other shocking conduct, according to DHS.
“Murderers, Pedophiles, Rapists, and Child Predators. These are the barbaric criminal illegal aliens arrested by ICE and being held at Louisiana Lockup,” a DHS spokesperson said a statement shared with the DCNF.
“If you are in America illegally, you could find yourself in CECOT, Cornhusker Clink, Speedway Slammer, or Louisiana Lockup,” the spokesperson continued. “Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.”
Among the 51 names shared with the DCNF, 26 have been convicted of murder, eight have been convicted of rape, another eight were convicted of sexual exploitation of minors and nine were convicted of sexual assault against minors.
Current inmates include Bounmy Thammavongsa, an illegal migrant from Laos convicted of raping a disabled victim, and Jorge Cajides-Vegas, a Cuban illegal migrant convicted of sodomizing a girl, according to DHS. Other illegal migrants at Louisiana Lockup include Felix Fernando Martinez Rico, a Cuban national convicted of rape with a weapon, and Minh Nguyen, a Vietnamese man convicted of fondling a child, an aggravated sexual offense.
“Criminal illegal aliens beware: Louisiana Lockup is where your time in America ends,” GOP Gov. Jeff Landry said in a public statement during the unveiling of the new facility, which is located in Saint Francisville. “This facility fulfills President Trump’s Make America Safe Again promise.”
Louisiana Lockup is just the latest state-led immigration detention project done in conjunction with the Trump administration. Following the opening of Alligator Alcatraz in the Florida everglades, DHS has also overseen the opening of the Speedway Slammer in Indiana and the Cornhusker Clink in Nebraska. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a major proponent of ICE cooperation, has even doubled down with the opening of a second facility, Deportation Depot, near Jacksonville.
Following an agreement earlier this year with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, the Trump administration has also removed illegal migrants to CECOT, the Central American country’s infamous mega-prison. Bukele agreed to take in the most egregious criminal migrants in exchange for a nominal fee from the U.S., before court battles got in the way.
All of these facilities have aided President Donald Trump’s ambitious immigration enforcement agenda by greatly expanding ICE detention space, giving illegal migrants a place to be detained after their apprehension.
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