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Questions at public forum over jail authority, ICE detainees; county official clarifies role and counts
Summary
Residents asked how the county's jail authority is constituted and whether the county jail is housing ICE detainees. A county official and a sheriff’s office representative said the jail authority is established by statute and that the facility houses people with judicial warrants, including some held by ICE, not administrative detainers.
A resident urged Lincoln County officials on Tuesday to clarify the composition of the jail authority and recent press reports suggesting the county facility would expand use for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees.
Joan Schwartz of Newcastle asked how the jail authority board is appointed and where to find meetings and information. A county official answered that the jail is jointly owned by Lincoln and Saginaw counties and that each county appoints members under the enabling statute: three commissioners, the sheriff, and three public members from each county. The official said the board appoints its public members.
On ICE detainees, a county official said 2 Bridges (the local detention facility) has been housing people held by ICE and the U.S. Marshals Service under intergovernmental agreements. The official, speaking as a single member of the jail authority and not for the entire authority, said those in ICE custody at 2 Bridges are individuals with judicial warrants who have committed crimes in the U.S. and are being detained by ICE; the official said administrative detainers are not how the facility’s ICE population is described and noted that the number of ICE detainees has held around 11–12 at recent meetings, with a maximum capacity for that arrangement of about 25.
Why it matters: residents’ questions reflect public concern about transparency and the county’s relationship with federal detention operations. County officials pointed residents to Colonel Bailey at the jail for more information and advised attending jail authority meetings for formal discussion.
Details from the meeting: Joan Schwartz was told the jail authority’s next meeting information was not always posted on the website and was advised to contact Colonel Bailey to identify an authorized spokesperson. A sheriff’s office representative said the county does annual reporting and said to contact the jail authority for details about policy or expansion. The county official said many people held by ICE at the facility have state or regional criminal charges and that the ICE population appears to have stabilized at a lower level than previously reported in some media accounts.
What was decided: no board action was taken; residents were directed to the jail authority and sheriff’s office for further information and to confirm meeting dates and public comment opportunities.
