

Tucked deep inside a sprawling prison, the Oakdale Federal Correctional Complex, the immigration court is designed to be overlooked. This single-story building is white with a blue metal roof one person described it to me, not unfairly, as resembling a large shed.

Oakdale, a sleepy town of 7,600 in Louisiana, is home to a drive-through daiquiri stand, two Mexican restaurants, numerous shuttered storefronts, and, on its northeastern border, the Oakdale Immigration Court.
