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Residents press commissioners on ICE contract and audit findings at county correctional facility
Summary
Public commenters raised concerns about the county jail’s long‑standing contract to house federal detainees and cited a 2024 audit they said showed multiple deficiencies; commissioners and the county solicitor defended facility management and said the county is not planning a physical expansion of the jail.
Several residents used the Feb. 4 public comment period to press the Pike County Board of Commissioners for information about the county correctional facility’s relationship with federal immigration authorities and about a 2024 audit report that a commenter said found multiple deficiencies.
An attendee asked whether the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other federal entities had contacted the county about expanding the correctional facility or expanding a federal contract. The chair responded that the county has had a contract with "Homeland Security, ICE, or, whatever you wanna call" for roughly 30 years and said the county is not planning to add building capacity. "We have a capacity up there for, I believe, 350 detainees," the chair said, adding the county has no plans to construct an addition.
A public commenter cited a 2024 audit report (transcript: "Prison ... Elimination Act audit report") and said the facility was found "deficient in 25 of 40 of the applicable standards," listing alleged shortcomings including staff training, background checks on contractors and volunteers, and incident‑review procedures. The commenter asked the board for clarification and expressed concern about relying on revenue from housing federal detainees.
County officials, including the chair and the county solicitor, disputed the suggestion the facility is unsafe and said many deficiencies identified in isolated reviews have been corrected. The solicitor said the county has operated under federal contracts for decades and that the facility provides local employment; he described the jail as "probably the best jail run in many counties" and said the facility had not been shut down despite periodic audits.
Commissioners and staff also outlined volunteer, reentry and programming opportunities at the facility and encouraged residents to contact the warden to learn about volunteer requirements, which include background checks. The board said revenue from housing federal detainees offsets operational costs but emphasized the county’s role is to pay bills rather than ‘‘make money.’’
No formal action was taken at the meeting to change contracts, expand capacity or adopt new policy related to detention contracts; commissioners said they would review audit materials and follow up as needed.
