CoreCivic staff pepper-sprayed and dispersed protesting detainees at Natchez ICE facility after halting hot food and water, detainee said
On Saturday evening, August 22, 2026, an estimated 80-100 detainees held in two housing pods at CoreCivic's Adams County Correctional Center, an ICE detention facility in Natchez, Mississippi, protested outside the cafeteria after the facility halted hot meals and hot water and served a lunch of two flour tortillas and sliced bologna. CoreCivic's special response team, in riot gear, dispersed the protest soon after; detainee Melvin Funez said the team sprayed some detainees and threw others to the ground before locking the dormitory doors. The facility, which CoreCivic operates under contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was holding roughly 2,500 people in a space designed for 2,300.