Agency to halt detentions in troubled Alabama lockup

WASHINGTON — Federal immigration authorities announced they will stop housing detainees at an Alabama jail with a history of problems and will limit the use of three other detention centers.

The decisions reinforce a commitment by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to review detention facilities to determine whether they are humane, meet applicable standards and are a responsible use of funding, according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement statement on Friday.

ICE says it will stop using the Etowah County Jail in Gadsden, Ala., as soon as possible, taking into account a 30-day notification requirement. The jail has “a long history of serious deficiencies,” the release stated.

Advocates who have long sought the end of ICE detention at the Etowah County Jail hailed the news as a victory, but they urged federal authorities not to just transfer people from one facility to another.

“The Etowah County Detention Center exemplifies everything that is wrong with immigration detention and why the detention system must be abolished,” said Detention Watch Network advocacy director Setareh Ghandehari. “The administration can and must do more to completely phase out the use of immigration detention by continuing to terminate contracts, shut down additional facilities and free people from detention.”

Etowah County Sheriff Jonathon Horton told the Gadsden Times that the decision to stop sending detainees to the jail “was just a bombshell,” and that he was working with members of Alabama’s congressional delegation to get more information.

Just this week the center was notified that 135 detainees would arrive next week, he said. “No one has canceled that,” Horton said.

ICE said it will also limit its use of the Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, Fla.; the Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, La.; and the Alamance County Detention Facility in Graham, N.C.

ICE has already reduced its use of the Glades County facility, in part because of “persistent and ongoing concerns related to the provision of detainee medical care.”

ICE Acting Director Tae Johnson has told staff to begin preparations, including relocating ICE staff and detainees as needed. The agency said it plans to continue to review other detention centers and adjust their use as appropriate.