Pope Leo XIV is visiting one of Equatorial Guinea’s notorious prisons. The visit Wednesday to the prison in the port city of Bata is drawing attention to human rights abuses that campaigners have denounced for years and especially after the U.S. began deporting third-country migrants to the central African nation. Human rights organizations are urging Leo to speak about the U.S. deportations and urging African countries to not be complicit. Leo’s visit to the prison continues a practice that was a priority of his predecessor, Pope Francis.

Protesters are rallying against a planned immigration detention facility in Maryland. The Department of Homeland Security bought a warehouse to convert into a detention center. Residents and activists are upset, saying they had no say in the decision. The facility is meant to hold between 500 and 1,500 people, but legal battles have delayed its opening. New Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is reviewing the project along with other warehouses bought to be turned into Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities. The federal government has faced fierce opposition in the communities where it's purchased warehouses. Washington County, Maryland, is the most welcoming community. Officials there said they supported ICE, albeit amid whistles and jeers.

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FILE - Trucks come and go from the "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Collier County, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)