Overview

The Adams County Correctional Center in Natchez is the second largest ICE detention facility in the entire country, averaging 2,154 detainees per day as of early 2026. Mississippi has one of the smallest immigrant populations of any state, yet houses one of the nation’s biggest detention operations. The facility is privately owned and operated by CoreCivic Inc. under an Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA) with ICE and Adams County.

Key Details

• Capacity: 2,260 beds
• Average daily population: 2,154 (early 2026)
• Operator: CoreCivic (publicly traded, Tennessee-based)
• Contract: IGSA between ICE, CoreCivic, and Adams County
• Monthly flat rate: $3.9M (per 2019 agreement)
• Warden: Rafael Vergara (named September 2025; replaced Jason Streeval)
• Average stay: ~60 days, but lengthening — some detainees held 7+ months
• Criminal conviction rate: Only 9% have any criminal conviction; all held for civil immigration infractions

Death in Custody: Delvin Francisco Rodriguez

Delvin Francisco Rodriguez, 39, Nicaraguan national, died December 14, 2025 at Merit Health Natchez after a medical emergency on December 4, 2025.

• Staff found Rodriguez unresponsive in his living area at approximately 4:15 PM on Dec. 4
• He was transported to Merit Health Natchez, where he failed a brain death test 10 days later
• ICE told family he was found “hanging in a cell” with a sheet
• However: Rodriguez had been housed in a large open unit with 100+ people, and family was not told why he was in a cell
• Nurses reportedly told family that Rodriguez’s injuries appeared inconsistent with ICE’s account
• Rodriguez was one of 7 ICE custody deaths in December 2025 alone
• 2025 was the deadliest year for ICE detention since the agency was formed, with 33 in-custody deaths

Conditions and Oversight

• DHS OIG found violations of ICE detention standards (OIG-21-46, July 2021)
• Detainees housed in large open dormitories with 100+ people
• Transgender women held in men’s facility per Trump 2025 executive order
• Nearly 90% of all ICE detainees nationally are held in for-profit facilities

Financial Context

• CoreCivic reported $2.2 billion in revenue in 2025
• Revenue increased by ~$200 million from 2024 to 2025, largely from ICE detention growth
• CoreCivic controls approximately 57% of all privately owned prison beds in the U.S.
• Adams County’s heatmap score of 42 includes a budget-distress signal — the county may be dependent on ICE revenue

Why This Matters

Adams County exemplifies the private prison-to-ICE pipeline: a rural, economically depressed county with a for-profit operator extracting federal immigration dollars. The suspicious death of Rodriguez, combined with prior OIG findings, suggests a facility where oversight has not kept pace with population growth. The budget-distress signal suggests the county itself may have financial incentives to maintain or expand the ICE relationship.

Sources

• Mississippi Today: What we know about one of the nation’s largest ICE facilities
• News From The States: Private Mississippi prison became one of nation’s largest ICE facilities
• Natchez Democrat: Adams County facility holds largest number of illegal immigration detainees
• Mississippi Free Press: Nicaraguan Man in ICE Custody Dies
• Mississippi Today: Nicaraguan dead after detention in Mississippi ICE facility
• DHS OIG: Violations at Adams County Correctional Center
• CoreCivic: Adams County Correctional Center