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Superintendent: ICE boarding brings revenue but won’t cut staffing proportionally
Summary
County corrections leaders told the Strafford County Delegation Executive Committee that boarding ICE detainees generates positive net revenue (about $150 per day with roughly $100 net), but classification and facility design mean losing that revenue would not reduce staffing on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
Strafford County corrections officials told the executive committee on Feb. 20 that the county earns significant boarding revenue by housing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees, but that the jail’s classification and facility requirements mean removing that population would not proportionally reduce staffing costs.
"We get a reimbursement rate of $150," said the jail superintendent, explaining how federal boarding contracts work and why lengths of stay vary by case status. "We make a substantial sum. I would estimate that our C that we make about $100 a day on of the 150." The superintendent said some detainees are transferred after criminal sentences, some seek asylum or appeals, and others are processed quickly — so average daily population and revenue are driven by multiple federal processes.
Administrator Bower told the committee the boarding program has materially affected the county budget. "When you look, if you look at the total appropriation the commissioners have asked for is of 17.8 million, they taken $9 million in from ICE," he said, summarizing the scale of boarding revenue in the commissioners’ recommended budget.
Several representatives pressed for more transparent data. Members asked for year-by-year revenue columns, average daily boarding figures, and a historical accounting of how ICE boarding affected the county’s bottom line. One representative asked whether the program is broadly profitable; the superintendent said the county uses boarding volume to generate income that offsets other county costs and reported available bed capacity (19 beds reported available the morning of the meeting).
Committee members and staff also discussed a practical limitation: because the jail was designed and staffed to maintain separation and classification (for example, by housing units and for safety), removing a portion of the population would not allow the county to cut payroll proportionally. "If we lost half the inmates we wouldn't lose half [the staff]," the superintendent said, noting fixed costs such as building depreciation and minimum staffing in booking and medical.
Several members asked for an outside review. A representative offered to request the county auditor conduct an independent analysis of boarding revenue, costs, and net taxpayer effect; the offer was accepted as a next step to provide an objective estimate of the program’s fiscal impact.
The committee did not make a final policy decision on boarding but asked staff to provide clearer historical revenue tables and the auditor’s review ahead of the full delegation meeting.
