Mesa County Jail Suspends Immigration Holds
County Jail Full Of Regular Inmates

POSTED: 9:12 am MDT April 9, 2009


GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- The Mesa County jail has temporarily stopped housing inmates on federal immigration holds because of overcrowding.

Sheriff Stan Hilkey said the jail has between 355 and 360 inmates. It has 366 built-in beds but has added bunk beds and houses some inmates in the gym.

The county's contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement allows the jail to stop taking immigration detainees when it reaches capacity.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Heather Benjamin said the jail is not releasing any county prisoners early or turning any new county inmates away.

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