Tuesday, February the 17th, I'm Renee Shaw.

We thank you for spending some of your Tuesday night with us.

Many Kentucky law enforcement and corrections agencies are collaborating with federal immigration enforcement.

A key way that's bringing in millions of federal dollars is housing Ice inmates in local jails.

In fact, there are 900 more immigration inmates in Kentucky county jails today than there were just a year ago.

Our June Leffler spoke with jail officials in Northern Kentucky on why they're renting beds to Ice.

>> Kenton County Detention Center can hold about 600 men and women here.

They sleep, exercise and fight their cases.

The jail recently added more video conferencing booths specifically for Ice inmates to contact their lawyers.

Some areas of the jail function as virtual courtrooms.

A judge will appear on the screen.

Inmates could stay at this jail for the entire length of their immigration case.

Terry Robinson manages inmates and staff at the county jail.

>> I've seen some people stay here two days.

I've seen some people stay here three months.

It just depends on if they decide to fight their case.

It is a lengthy process.

There's several court hearings that they'll have to attend.

If they voluntarily deport, then it's usually within 1 to 2 weeks.

They're out of custody.

>> Ice arrested 32% more people in Kentucky in 2020 than it had the year before, according to an analysis from the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy.

Three quarters of those people were first arrested by local police for alleged crimes, but were then picked up by Ice at the jail.

>> They complete their county charges here.

They will go to court.

They will either get sentenced, released, whatever the case may be, and then once they've completed that case, we notify immigration and they then turn them over into immigration custody.

>> But Kentucky's county jails are also holding people Ice arrests elsewhere.

>> Which means they're coming from Chicago or wherever they are arrested and detained and then moved into our facility.

And we don't know why.

They became in contact with Ice and were detained.

We just are housing them for Ice.

>> Since last year, more Kentucky jails are housing more immigration detainees.

Take one day in late January 2025, 130 detainees were in two county jails.

A year later, nearly eight times as many immigration detainees were spread across ten county jails.

That's 900 people that weren't there before.

Kenton county's jailer signed a new contract last year to rent more jail beds to the federal government.

>> When I took over and took office, you know, I looked at these beds as commodities.

>> Jails are obligated to house alleged criminals picked up by local police.

But county officials frequently testify in Frankfort that food, housing and medical costs for inmates are skyrocketing.

But offering to house federal inmates, including Ice detainees, can put jails back in the Black.

>> Space that we do have, right?

We want to use it to to the best, I think, for the county taxpayers.

And that's what we have tried to do.

And when we did this and decided to sign this agreement, that was part of it.

>> The federal government pays Kenton County $88 a day for each inmate.

The state pays two, but at less than half the federal rate.

>> If I'm housing somebody, then we're getting paid 3534 a day for and we can house somebody that we're getting $88 a day for.

That's just common sense.

Also in that 3534 right, is medical expenses, right, that we have to absorb for the state inmates?

Right.

On the federal side, we do not have to do that.

Right.

Any kind of outside outside medical care that they need.

Right.

Then the federal government picks that up.

We are not responsible for that.

>> Same goes for transportation.

Kenton County staff earn $43 an hour when driving federal inmates.

On top of that, Kenton County was holding Ice inmates for no more than three days.

Now, the jail has offered to house them indefinitely, but the group Kentucky Citizens for democracy says this still is not worth it.

They've been organizing in Oldham County and elsewhere.

>> Why does the richest county in Kentucky have to go get inmates from other states and bring them in here so that we can get paid so much per day to have them?

I find this immoral.

>> Kyle Ellison is a former corrections officer and has been tracking the numbers himself.

>> I mean, I would like to know exactly how many people are being imported, and I don't think it's an accident that that's hard to find out.

>> Based on a Kentucky Department of Corrections count from late last month.

40% of county jails have more inmates than beds.

A third of those jails take federal inmates.

>> And there's financial incentive to to put more people in there than you have beds for, even for the jails that are not overcrowded.

The temptation to overcrowd is always there.

>> Kenton County Jail also signed a collaborative agreement with Ice, referred to as the 287 program.

This will allow the local jail to process inmates into Ice custody.

>> We've not started it, so I don't know what to expect.

I think that it will kind of just be what we're doing now.

Other than we will be able to look at the information and not have to wait on an agent to come.

You know, we won't have that 72 hour gap between the detainer and actually placing them in immigration custody, and it may speed the process up for the inmate.

>> Mark field says Ice is not telling him what to do.

>> We decide that number, right?

We can say whether or not we have any open beds.

>> Have you all ever housed a child?

Would you ever know?

Including if that's with or without a parent?

>> No.

No.

>> While he would tell any jailer there is money to be had, he says any state mandate to collaborate with Ice wouldn't be right.

>> That's my personal belief.

It should be a local decision.

And I think that's where the best government is, is locally.

>> When state senator has proposed mandating local law enforcement enter agreements with Ice, including for jail enforcement.

At this point, Senate Bill 86 has not been heard before.

A Committee for Kentucky edition.

I'm June Leffler.

>> Thank you, Jen, for that report.

Which jail holds the most Ice inmates?

Well, that's Boone County holding 202 immigrant detainees as of February 5th.

That's according to TRACK reports.org right