CLINTON COUNTY, Ind. (September 24, 2025) – The Clinton County Jail is an ICE Detention Facility; that fact came to light during the Tuesday county council budget hearing.
“What is the cost of having ICE detainees in our jail right now intermixing with local inmates,” asked Commissioners’ president Jordan Brewer to members of the county council. Afterwards, in the hallway outside the meeting room, Brewer stated he was only sharing “what I have been told.”
Clinton County president Alan Dunn stated that a report from a single month, possibly April or May, showed an additional $85,000 generated from fees associated with housing ICE detainees when asked during a beak in the budget hearing. According to Dunn, this money represents a supplemental additional fee received when a federal inmate is also an ICE detainee.
The revenue increase coincided with a new contract amount for federal inmates that started around February 1st of this year, raising the per-inmate rate to approximately $90. The previous contract rate was $68. After the initial jump from the rate increase, a “secondary jump” was observed in May related to a portion of those inmates being ICE detainees according to Dunn.
Though the specifics of the agreements and the exact number of detainees remain largely unknown to local county leaders, Clinton County is reportedly one of four counties in Indiana that house ICE detainees, according to an article published by The Indianapolis Star on August 25. The other three are Clay, Clark and Marion County. However, both Brewer and Dunn each expressed difficulty accessing detailed breakdowns, noting that they only see the amount deposited into the federal inmate fund and not the specific number of individuals or the compensation agreement.
Sheriff Defends Partnership, Warns of Program Instability
The Sheriff’s office confirmed its participation in the ICE program. Clinton County Sheriff Richard Kelly stated his agency will “continue to partner with our federal agencies to continue to do a fantastic job of detention and humanely get these folks transported to where they need to be transported.” The Sheriff emphasized that the office will not “pick and choose what we enforce” and is following what the President of the United States has asked, positioning the county as part of a working law enforcement program.
Sheriff Kelly took issue with Brewer, stating that comments made could place the facility and employees “in danger of protesters.” Kelly continued: “He is putting our community at risk. He’s putting our facility and employees at risk. And he gladly accepts the money for pet projects and everything else under the sun that we pay for.”
The federal inmate revenue has brought “well over a million dollars” into the facility and is currently viewed as an “absolute necessity” for budgets, funding deputy and corrections positions, and covering upkeep on the 30-year-old facility added Kelly.
However, the Sheriff cautioned that the program introduces financial volatility. The program “can end by my choice, by the federal government’s choice,” potentially disappearing in just 30 days. This instability complicates planning for facility upgrades or replacement, especially since the funding for a new facility is often tied to the federal inmate program.
Facility Strain and Controversy
Concerns were raised about the physical impact of the increased population. Brewer noted that having 225 people in the facility wears it down quicker than 150 people.
The Indianapolis Star noted that Clay County conducted an analysis and added approximately 285 beds to its existing facility. Through seven months of this year, ICE had sent more than 3,000 detainees thru the Clay County jail at $85 per day for each immigration detainee.
