Thread: Nebraska: Hall County signs contract to house immigration de

Hall County signs contract to house immigration detainees
By: Tracy Overstreet, The Grand Island Independent
11/11/2008
Updated 11/11/2008 11:50:49 AM EST

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - Hall County has signed a contract that could mean up to $1.7 million a year from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office.

The county agreed to house up to 75 federal detainees a day at a rate of $63 per inmate, per day.

"It's a good contract," Hall County Corrections Director Fred Ruiz said Monday. "We need to start generating the income. We need to get going."

Ruiz expects the federal detainees to start being housed at the Hall County jail in about 45 days. Federal authorities still have to sign the contract, but already have agreed verbally to its contents, he said.

The county had hoped to secure such a contract to help cover the expenses of the larger, 300-bed county jail that opened in July.

The new jail's size necessitated that the county hire additional corrections officers. Ruiz said 23 were hired at a cost of about $1.1 million.

County supervisors had hoped that an inmate housing contract could bring in about $1 million a year. They budgeted to receive that amount over the fiscal year that began July 1.

Although the ICE detainees will be housed on an "as needed" basis, Ruiz said the $63 per day for up to 75 detainees daily would go a long way toward bringing in the money the county hoped for.

Most will stay for about 30 to 45 days, but it will a "revolving door" scenario in which more detainees will be brought in as others leave.

www.gretnabreeze.com

ICE better get busy, because the jail they are talking about is only about a 1/2 mile from the beef packing plant which is prime habitat for illegals. As Archie Bunker says, "Case Closed"