‘The dungeon’ at Louisiana’s notorious prison reopens as Ice detention center

Critics condemn reopening of Camp J' unit at Angola in service of Trump's nationwide immigration crackdown, noting its history of brutality and violence

There were no hurricanes in the Gulf, as can be typical for Louisiana in late July - but Governor Jeff Landry quietly declared a state of emergency. The Louisiana state penitentiary at Angola - the largest maximum security prison in the country - was out of bed space for violent offenders" who would be transferred to its facilities", he warned in an executive order.

The emergency declaration allowed for the rapid refurbishing of a notorious, shuttered housing unit at Angola formerly known as Camp J - commonly referred to by prisoners as the dungeon" because it was once used to house men in extended solitary confinement, sometimes for years on end.