Detained immigrants allege worms in food, retaliation; CoreCivic denies claims
Oct 20, 2025·Location: Farmville, VA

On October 19-20, 2025, approximately 98 men detained at Farmville Detention Center reported finding worms in their food and refused meals due to health and safety concerns. When detainees reported the contaminated food to staff, they were threatened with loss of commissary access in apparent retaliation, according to advocacy group Free Them All VA. The detained men are demanding a meeting with CoreCivic, the private company that runs the facility, and ICE. CoreCivic disputed the allegations, stating facility leadership found no evidence of contamination and that staff, including the assistant warden, ate the same meal without incident, also denying any retaliation occurred. A coalition of 40 advocacy organizations cited the incident, along with a similar 2015 complaint at the facility, in renewing calls for its closure.
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