Mississippi ICE Detainees Allege Gas Leak Sickened Men During 2-Day Outage at 2,000-Bed Facility
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 14
Mississippi ICE Detainees Allege Gas Leak Sickened Men During 2-Day Outage at 2,000-Bed Facility
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 14
Summary
Detainees at the Adams county ICE center in Natchez said a suspected gas leak on Saturday caused headaches and other symptoms, and that some men were denied medical care after being evacuated into near-100F heat.
A power failure starting Monday allegedly left parts of the facility without air conditioning until late Wednesday, forcing detainees to stay in cramped cells or outside without shade as tensions and fights rose.
CoreCivic disputed the account, saying staff found no gas leak, no one was refused treatment, and a storm-related outage lasted about two hours, with generators and HVAC operating throughout.
The allegations hit a facility already under scrutiny: ICE inspectors in May found 23 use-of-force or restraint violations and downgraded Adams County's rating to acceptable/adequate from superior in 2025.
The Natchez jail holds more than 2,000 people, Mississippi Today reported in March, and the claims add to wider criticism of private ICE detention after recent deaths and care failures at other centers.