Residents urge transparency on Grayson County Detention Center after ICE transfers, cite overcrowding

Residents and activists raised concerns about the Grayson County Detention Center and the county’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement during public comment at the Aug. 12 Grayson County Fiscal Court meeting.

Beth Mattingly, who identified herself as representing Grayson County Citizens for Democracy, said the group is hosting a town hall on Thursday, Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. and invited county leaders to attend. "Grayson County deserves transparency, accountability, and a bright, fair future," Mattingly said. She asked officials to attend the meeting so the public could ask questions of local leaders and experts she named in materials distributed to the court.

Mattingly criticized a recent sheriff’s office press release about an arrest that, she said, emphasized a person’s immigration status. "That framing suggests being undocumented is worse than committing violent crimes, and that's misleading," she said, and she called for heightened transparency about transfers and detention.

A second speaker, Britney Sperico, described prior advocacy on behalf of an 18-year-old detainee and said she was speaking for Maria Rodriguez, a 49-year-old certified nursing assistant who, Sperico said, attended a routine immigration appointment and was then detained and transported across state lines. "She was locked inside Grayson County Detention Center like a criminal, but Maria is not a criminal," Sperico told the court.

Sperico and Mattingly both cited a Kentucky Department of Corrections report dated Aug. 7, 2025 that they said listed the county jail as built for 536 beds but holding 710 on that date. Mattingly said that represented 129% capacity and argued overcrowding exacerbates harms to people in custody and community mistrust.

An official who spoke in response — identified only in the meeting transcript as an agency representative who handles news releases and federal coordination — defended the sheriff’s office practice of issuing news releases when arrests are newsworthy and described cooperation with federal partners such as ICE and U.S. Marshals. That speaker said federal involvement in cases often depends on the investigation and whether federal task forces or warrants are involved, and said "they're gonna be as involved in Grayson County as our leaders of law enforcement want them to be involved." The speaker also said local law enforcement would not conduct warrantless immigration sweeps.

The transcript records a factual dispute about capacity figures. One speaker praised jail operations and said the county’s system includes three facilities with a combined 717 beds; another speaker repeated the Kentucky DOC figure that the main facility held 710 on Aug. 7, 2025. The jailer, identified in the meeting as Jason Moseley, was praised by at least one commenter for his work; another meeting participant noted the Department of Corrections has called county staff to assist other facilities after incidents elsewhere.

Mattingly announced a town hall and education forum and said the group had distributed informational packets and would invite county leaders, the sheriff, the jailer and magistrates to attend. "We are inviting you, our judge executive, our sheriff, our jailer, our magistrates to come together with the community you serve to answer questions," she said.

Speakers asked the court to do several things during future deliberations, including: release Maria Rodriguez; ensure no detainee is held without a signed judicial warrant; commit to greater transparency about contracts and transfers involving federal agencies; and attend the Sept. 4 town hall.

The court did not take any formal action on these requests during the meeting; the items were made in the public-comment period and recorded as remarks rather than motions or orders.

Both proponents of the jail’s administration and critics of detention expressed strong views; the meeting record shows disagreement over the appropriate level of cooperation with federal immigration authorities and over the jail’s capacity figures. Mattingly and Sperico urged the court to respond publicly and attend the planned community forum.

The public-comment period closed with officials noting the town hall invitation and advising concerned citizens to follow up with the judge executive’s office for additional information.