Immigration detention center built on site of former Native American concentration camp
The Bishop Henry Whipple Building in Fort Snelling, Minnesota, which currently serves as a major immigration enforcement processing center, is located on the site of a former concentration camp used during the 1862 Dakota Indian Wars to imprison thousands of Dakota and Ho-Chunk people. In early 2026, at least three Indigenous people—Jose Ramirez (Red Lake descendant), a Dakota woman, and four Lakota men—were detained at the building, raising concerns about the historical significance of using this location for immigration enforcement.










































