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NATCHEZ – A private prison facility in Adams County is holding the largest number of detainees in the United States as the national immigration crackdown continues.

The Adams County Correctional Center, operated by CoreCivic, averages 2,145 detainees for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to a report in axios.com. The update comes as tens of thousands of individuals are being rounded up across the nation during an ongoing crackdown on illegal immigration.

The report cites data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) and notes that immigration detainee facilities across the nation are at or near capacity.

The 2,322-bed Adams County facility is owned by CoreCivic and operated under contract with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons. It has been the target of lawsuits previously relating to the care of immigration detainees.

According to the Axios report, ICE was holding 41,169 individuals in detention at various locations throughout the country on Feb. 8. Also in the immigration system are more than 188,000 individuals and families who were in the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program as of Jan. 11. This includes nonviolent detainees usually given wristbands or ankle monitors.

Immigrants can end up at detention facilities after being arrested by ICE or the U.S. Border Patrol or by being arrested on criminal charges. Detention facilities are operated by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons, state and local governments, and private contractors such as CoreCivic, the U.S. Marshals Service or ICE.