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Linn County sheriff says jail may house federal detainees as staffing increases
Summary
Sheriff Gardner told the Board of Supervisors that Linn County's jail has capacity to host additional federal inmates, including U.S. Marshals and potentially ICE or Bureau of Prisons detainees, while county hiring continues to restore staffing levels.
Sheriff Gardner told the Linn County Board of Supervisors on April 1 that the county jail has room to house additional federal inmates and that preliminary discussions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been favorable.
The sheriff said the jail has been prepared to house up to 70 U.S. Marshals detainees and that about 50 beds are currently in use. He said the county’s primary responsibility remains housing Linn County state inmates but that short-term federal housing could increase jail revenues.
The sheriff said shell construction at the facility is nearly complete and that the department has hired three deputies from a January testing round; another civil detention officer hiring push is planned after May testing. "We told them we'd have space for for 70. I think we are at 50 ish right now," Gardner said. He added that staffing increases — a mix of deputies and civilian detention officers — should bring staffing closer to target levels.
On talks with ICE, Gardner described how ICE previously used detainers to take custody after local criminal cases concluded and said the county could soon directly house people ICE already had in custody under a new agreement. "More often than not, yes, there was some sort of a criminal activity that brought them to ICE's attention," he said, but added the jail typically does not receive full charging documents when federal agencies request custody.
Board members asked whether detainees likely to be housed for ICE would have criminal records; Gardner said his office often lacks specific charging details and that custody requests sometimes arrive only as a court document asking the jail to hold a person for the requesting agency. He also noted the county must continue to honor space commitments to neighboring Johnson County.
No formal vote or policy change was recorded; the sheriff described ongoing negotiations and operational steps (construction completion, recruitment and testing) that would undergird any capacity increase.
