People held at the Adams County Detention Center, an ICE facility in Natchez, Mississippi, operated by private contractor CoreCivic, have alleged they experienced a gas leak and subsequent power outage that left them without adequate medical care or cooling, according to reports from a detainee who contacted media through family members.
The detainee reported that a gas leak occurred last Saturday, after which facility occupants were evacuated into near 100-degree heat for extended periods. Upon returning indoors, the facility allegedly still smelled of gas, and multiple detainees reportedly developed headaches and symptoms consistent with inhaled gas exposure. According to family members, detainees were not provided clear information about the source of the leak or whether it was fully resolved. A power outage on Monday resulted in the loss of air conditioning until late Wednesday, with occupants either confined to cells without cooling or exposed to intense outdoor heat without shade. The detainee’s family stated that authorities restricted access to communication devices during the outage and that facility staffing levels were inadequate to manage rising tensions and physical altercations among detainees.
CoreCivic disputed these characterizations in a statement. The company said staff detected no gas leak despite detainees perceiving a smell, and that maintenance personnel found no evidence of a leak upon inspection. Regarding the power disruption, CoreCivic stated a storm caused a two-hour outage affecting the surrounding community, and that emergency generators functioned as designed. The company added that a transformer failure caused lighting issues in one housing pod but maintained that HVAC systems were never interrupted. CoreCivic also stated that no one was denied medical care and that its clinic maintains licensed healthcare professionals meeting contracted care standards.
The allegations arise amid broader scrutiny of CoreCivic’s detention operations. An ICE inspection in May identified 23 violations of use-of-force and restraint standards at the Adams County facility, leading to a downgrade from superior status in 2025 to acceptable/adequate this year. The facility, one of the nation’s largest immigration jails, currently houses over 2,000 detainees, according to reporting from earlier in the year. Advocacy groups have called for thorough investigation and accountability regarding the reported conditions.
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