# Mississippi ICE facility's population plummets despite detention expansion push  
**Published:** 2026-05-01T16:28:08.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/01/repub/the-population-of-this-giant-mississippi-ice-facility-has-plummeted-in-3-weeks-ice-says-thats-normal/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/mississippi-ice-facility-s-population-plummets-despite-detention-expansion-push

The population of one of the nation's largest immigration detention facilities has plummeted by nearly 1,000 people in just three weeks, an unexplained drop that raises questions about what's happening inside [Mississippi's Adams County Correctional Center](https://mississippitoday.org/2026/04/24/mississippis-ice-population-dip/).

Data released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on April 2 showed that more than 2,100 people were being held at the facility, according to reporting by the Nebraska Examiner, which republished an investigation from Mississippi Today. But when U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi, visited on April 9, he said the facility was holding just 1,400 people.

The dramatic decline has triggered speculation among detainees that the 14-acre facility outside Natchez might be closing. Yet ICE dismissed the population shift as routine. Spokesperson Angelina Vicknair said in a written statement that daily operations continue as normal and that population changes are routine. The agency declined to provide specific booking data or current population figures.

Detainees reported being moved out of their original housing units and consolidated into others, leaving entire units empty. The facility is one of two ICE detention centers operated by CoreCivic in Mississippi, with a second location in Tutwiler authorized last year to start housing ICE detainees.

The population drop is puzzling given the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement policies. ICE arrests have fallen in recent months, and the number of people in immigration detention has dropped from a high of roughly 72,000 in January to 58,000 this week, according to recent reporting. Yet the administration aims to have enough space to detain roughly 100,000 people this fiscal year, which would more than double the average daily number held in ICE detention last year.

Nationally, as of early March, the number of immigration arrests has remained high – more than three times the number in 2024, while the number of detainees in other facilities, including major ones such as those in El Paso, Texas, and Stewart County, Georgia, has remained stable and in some cases has even gone up.

Reporters who investigated the population decline found no public records of a facility closure or layoffs. The facility holds more than 2,000 ICE detainees and is the single largest taxpayer in Adams County, a county of fewer than 30,000 residents.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/01/repub/the-population-of-this-giant-mississippi-ice-facility-has-plummeted-in-3-weeks-ice-says-thats-normal/)
- [Mississippi Today investigation on ICE facility population drop](https://mississippitoday.org/2026/04/24/mississippis-ice-population-dip/)
- [Recent reporting on ICE detention decline and administration goals](https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2026/05/01/trump-administration-immigration-crackdown-recalibration/)

---

This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/01/repub/the-population-of-this-giant-mississippi-ice-facility-has-plummeted-in-3-weeks-ice-says-thats-normal/.