FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2025
FARMVILLE, VA — On Sunday, October 19, people detained at Farmville Detention Center reported evidence of worms in their food. When people detained brought this up to staff in the detention center and refused to eat all three meals the next day out of concern for their health and safety, the staff retaliated against them by threatening to remove access to food for sale in the detention center’s commissary. People detained at Farmville are demanding access to clean and edible food, including fruits and vegetables. People detained at Farmville also demand a meeting with CoreCivic and ICE leadership about the worsening situation at the detention center.
This disturbing event is aligned with the detention center’s dangerous history of abuse, brutality, and neglect, all of which pose a tremendous risk to detained individuals' health and safety. In February 2015, people detained at Farmville Detention Center also reported evidence of white worms in their food. When people brought this information to the staff’s attention and demanded edible and not rotten food, they were brutalized with violence, including pepper spray and physical violence from staff. A 2015 Contract Discrepancy Report shows that Immigration Centers of America, the company that ran Farmville Detention Center at the time, “issued a memo threatening those who complained with prosecution.” ICE found that ICA Farmville's actions “violated standards which state that disciplinary actions cannot be retaliatory.” In the years since, community members detained at Farmville have continued to be subject to a pattern of deadly medical neglect, perilous conditions, and the deprivation of basic rights.
A currently detained individual spoke to Free Them All VA yesterday to report the following: “On the morning of Monday, October 20, 2025, all 98 men from a unit in the Farmville Detention Center refused and returned the plates from all three meals of the day. The food is prepared once every four days (chicken salad and peanut butter). Sanitary measures require that refrigerators be kept at a temperature of less than 40 degrees, for no more than two hours without refrigeration, in airtight containers. The food is mixed with fresh food and leftovers. A few days ago, a fellow inmate suffered from gastroenteritis. He sought medical attention and was given pills that caused vomiting and intense pain for several days.”
Another currently detained person reported that he only discovered there were worms in the food after he had already eaten his dinner: “The situation scared us. Once we noticed that there were worms in several other people’s food, I felt sick. I had eaten worms.” He and other men at Farmville are pleading for access to nutritious food and basic health and safety measures at the facility. This morning, the men had breakfast with one of the prison supervisors to discuss the food conditions. Nonetheless, the men from this unit want to file complaints about the incident and demand better food inside the prison.
This report coincides with other very recent reports from people who have reported abuse at Farmville after being deported. The wife of a recently deported member of our community told us: “He was in a place called Farmville. The conditions inside the detention center were destroying my husband’s mental health. I heard about the overcrowded cells with broken toilets, lights on 24/7, expired food, some detainees lacking access to water, and freezing temperatures. After two months of paying attorney fees, phone calls (a 30-minute call cost about $6), his commissary, managing rent and bills, we had no other option. I was drowning in my reality and had very little hope that he would be released.”
The Free Them All VA Coalition issued the following statement: “This incident is the latest example of abuse in Farmville’s long and troubling history, where members of our community are treated as less than human. For over a decade, Farmville has been plagued by systemic cruelty, neglect, and retaliation. Daily life at Farmville, a detention center that profits from human suffering, is characterized by a culture of systematic abuse and brutality. Community members have already suffered retaliation for raising these concerns and demanding edible food in the past. Let’s be clear: ICE is motivated only by its mission to terrorize immigrants and separate families, while CoreCivic is motivated by its relentless pursuit of profit and shareholder value. To end this cycle of abuse, we demand the immediate closure of Farmville and the release of community members to return to the safety of their homes here in the United States.”
In August 2025, Congressman Don Beyer visited the detention center after receiving pressure from directly affected families and other organizers in his district. He reported that the acquisition of the center by CoreCivic, a dangerous and notoriously deadly private prison company, was promising, despite community warnings that this change of ownership would not change conditions, ignoring demands for a public statement on the center's closure. After his visit, Congressman Don Beyer said, “I think CoreCivic taking over was one of the big steps in terms of bringing in a big company with many, many more resources to invest in the things because we want it to be safe for everyone.”
Now we have further evidence of the appalling and disgusting conditions inside the Farmville Detention Center. Despite the acquisition by CoreCivic, we continue to urge Virginia's elected officials to close the detention center, release the people, and reallocate community funds, diverting them from ICE to healthcare, education, and other community-supported initiatives.
In the words of a person directly impacted and an organizer with the Free Them All VA coalition: “This crisis is not an isolated event, but rather a reflection of a system that normalizes and profits from suffering. The testimonies of those who have experienced Farmville and other migrant detention centers remind us that the violence does not end when we leave their doors. The emotional damage is irreversible, generational, and represents a continuation of years of institutional and systemic abuse. We do not need to improve conditions; we urge the closure of these concentration centers that line the pockets of a few at the expense of the dignity and humanity of many.”
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A coalition of 40 local and national organizations have endoresed this statement, including the following:
The Free Them All Virginia Coalition is working to end immigration incarceration and build a state where all Virginians are free. Learn more here: https://lacolectiva.org/freethemallva
La ColectiVA is an inclusive, abolitionist collaborative led by gente Latinx who are committed to upholding social justice and equity. Follow La ColectiVA on Facebook and Instagram at @lacolectiva703
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Northern Virginia is a chapter of a national network of groups and individuals organizing white people for racial justice.
Northern Virginia DSA is a branch of Metro DC DSA organizing socialists to build workplace democracy, demand a right to housing, confront immigration detention profiteers, stand up to Amazon, ensure a just transition, and fight fascism.
The National Immigration Project is a membership organization of attorneys, advocates, and community members who believe that all people should be treated with dignity, live freely, and flourish. We litigate, advocate, educate, and build bridges across movements to ensure that those most impacted by the immigration and criminal systems are uplifted and supported. Learn more at nipnlg.org. Follow the National Immigration Project on Bluesky, Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram at @nipnlg.
Freedom for Immigrants is an abolitionist organization working to end immigration incarceration by organizing with and following the leadership of currently and formerly incarcerated immigrants. We’re building a future in which all people can move freely and thrive. Learn more at www.freedomforimmigrants.org/.
Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid (MSMA) is a network of community organizations and hundreds of individual volunteers who are committed to welcoming and supporting migrants in the DMV area through solidarity, not charity.
Also Co-Signed By:
Abolish Slavery Virginia
Alexandria for Palestinian Human Rights
Arlington for Palestine
Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Detention Watch Network
Families For Freedom
First Congregational United Church of Christ of DC
Hoyas for Immigrant Rights - Georgetown University
ICE Out of Arlington
Immigrant Liberation Coalition at GW
International Mayan League
Irish Americans for Palestine
Jews United for Justice
John Wesley AMEZ Church
La Resistencia
MADRVA
Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid
MoCo Immigrant Rights Collective
NorCal Resist
PAX CHRISTI METRO DC-BALTIMORE
Pilgrim United Church of Christ
Refugee & Immigrant Solidarity Coalition
ROC-DC
Rock Spring Congregational UCC
Saint Gabriel's ~ San Gabriel Episcopal Church
Southeast Dignity not Detention Coalition
The ICEBreakers
Virginia Abolitionist Response Network
Viet Place Collective
VILLAS (Virginia Immigrants for Life, Liberation, Autonomy & Solidarity)
Virginia Justice Alliance
Virginia Student Power Network
Washington National Cathedral Sanctuary Ministry