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Western MD County Makes Money From Detained Immigrants

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FREDERICK, Md. (AP) - A western Maryland county is turning a profit on its contract with the federal government to house detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Frederick News-Post reports that the county sheriff's office receives $83 per inmate per day to house immigration detainees at the county jail.

A county audit found that the cost of housing the inmates is anywhere from $21 to $53 per day, depending on how the costs are calculated.

Last year the county housed more than 300 different detainees under its agreement with ICE. Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins said that anywhere from 35 to 52 ICE detainees are housed at the jail at any given time.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.