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Residents press Calhoun County commissioners for transparency on ICE detention contract and jail conditions
Summary
At the Dec. 18 meeting public commenter Alex Bondar urged the board to demand access and transparency from the sheriff’s office about ICE detainees, citing FOIA‑reported revenue numbers, alleged abuses and calling for county inspection of jail conditions and reconsideration of federal contracts and 287(g) participation.
At the Dec. 18 Calhoun County Board of Commissioners meeting, Alex Bondar of Battle Creek urged the board to demand transparency from the sheriff’s office about the county’s role in immigration detention and to open the jail for inspection.
Bondar told commissioners he remains “concerned about Calhoun County’s involvement in immigration enforcement,” and cited reports he said show detainees lack dietary accommodations, access to necessary medications and adequate visitation and communication with family and legal counsel. He said some detainees told him they feared reprisals if complaints were raised.
Bondar referenced local reporting and FOIA documents he said show the county is projected to take in $6,606,000 this year in ICE detention revenue, a 42% increase from the prior record, and that roughly $4,000,000 is “essentially pure profit” after operating costs. “I would like to know where that money is going,” he said, calling attention to simultaneous proposed layoffs in the health department and other county offices.
He asked the board to demand access to inspect detainee conditions, to clarify whether immigrants are held with the general jail population, and to consider policy changes including cancelling federal holding contracts and withdrawing from 287(g) arrangements. “Please demand transparency from the sheriff regarding the jail,” Bondar said.
The meeting record shows Bondar’s comments were made during the public comment periods; no motion or formal response from the board or the sheriff’s office is recorded in the transcript. Commissioners did not vote on any policy changes or direct staff to investigate during the session.
What happens next: the board took no formal action on Bondar’s requests during the Dec. 18 meeting. The transcript shows Bondar returned during a second public‑comment period to reiterate the FOIA figures and to urge sanctuary‑policy steps, but there is no recorded follow‑up vote or assignment in the meeting minutes.
Provenance: Public comments by Alex Bondar at the Dec. 18 meeting (first comment and second-period comment).
