Rockingham County schedules public hearing on proposed ICE detainee contract after large public opposition

The Rockingham County Board of Commissioners voted Sept. 25 to schedule a special meeting with a public hearing and a subsequent vote on whether to permit U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to use beds at the county jail.

The decision followed more than an hour of public comment during the board’s regular meeting, during which dozens of residents, faith leaders and advocacy-group members urged the commissioners not to allow ICE to detain individuals in the jail. Speakers raised concerns about due process, solitary confinement, the effect on trust in local law enforcement and moral objections to contracting with federal immigration enforcement.

The motion to schedule the special meeting and public hearing was made by the chair of the Board of Commissioners and seconded; the commissioners present voted to place the contract before the board for a later public hearing and vote.

Why it matters: Residents said the proposed contract would change the role the county jail plays in the community and would subject people to detention without the protections speakers said are…