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Resident at Pike County meeting questions use of detention center for ICE detainees, alleges revenue motive
Summary
During public comment, a resident alleged Pike County is shifting local detainees out and operating the detention center as an ICE facility for revenue, asked about due process and cited a $178 per-person payment figure; commissioners did not provide a detailed response on record.
During the public-comment period at the June 3 meeting, a resident raised concerns about Pike County’s use of its detention center and the county’s intergovernmental transfer agreement. The commenter said the county originally accepted ICE detainees to cover excess capacity but alleged the county is now transferring local detainees to Wayne County and using the space to house ICE detainees as a revenue source.
"Now Pike County is using this detention center as a money maker by transferring all local detainees to Wayne County and turning our detention center into a full ICE facility," the commenter said, adding a stated rate of "$178 a person for each ICE detainee." The speaker questioned whether individuals held there have received constitutional due process and urged the county to reconsider using the facility in that way, calling it "a stain on the community."
No county official provided a detailed response on the record during that comment segment. The comment also said the characterization of the facility as a "concentration camp" was directed at the policy of monetizing detention capacity rather than the facility staff or warden.
The commission’s formal agenda included a tabling earlier in the meeting of a contract approval (item No. 5) so the solicitor could review it; the public commenter framed the detention issue as a policy and ethics concern and asked the board to confirm due-process protections and per-diem payment details.
