Protesters Rally Against Planned ICE Detention Center at Camp Atterbury

Protesters from across Indiana gathered at a park just outside Camp Atterbury to voice their opposition to the planned use of the facility as a temporary detention center for suspected illegal immigrants. About 200 people attended the protest, with some comparing the proposed ICE facility to concentration camps.

Amanda Burkman, who drove from Jennings County to attend the protest, said she was concerned about the plans and compared them to World War II-era concentration camps she has visited in Europe.

“I’ve seen what they’re doing in Alligator Alcatraz and I know that (Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem) is referring to what they’re doing in Indiana as the Speedway Slammer,” she said. “I don’t want that in my state, I don’t want that in my country.”

Krista Johnson Weichsel, a member of Tapestry Church in Bargersville, attended the protest with about 20 other church members. She said she wanted to teach her children about kindness and believes the government is not demonstrating that value.

“We try to welcome the stranger. That’s what our faith teaches us,” she said. “This is happening right in our backyard. It’s an embarrassment.”

Camp Atterbury, a federal facility under the Indiana National Guard's management, was announced as one of two facilities that would serve as ICE detention centers last month by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. While no detainees have been held at Camp Atterbury so far, officials are still figuring out which roles ICE and the Indiana National Guard will fill in running the facility.

Indiana Republicans have consistently supported the use of Camp Atterbury as an ICE detention facility. Congresswoman Erin Houchin has said that the Trump administration is well within its right to use the facility that way, and she has no concerns about Camp Atterbury's ability to accommodate detainees.

Protesters drew contrasts between the ICE proposal and Camp Atterbury's history, noting that during World War II, Wakeman General Hospital at the base treated more than 85,000 patients. In 2021, Afghan refugees were temporarily housed at Camp Atterbury following the fall of Kabul.

Protest organizer Brad Meyer, who plans to run against Houchin in next year's Congressional election as a Democrat, said that the ICE plan runs counter to that history and that he will organize another protest outside Houchin's Salem field office in October.