© 2024 WNIJ and WNIU
Northern Public Radio
801 N 1st St.
DeKalb, IL 60115
815-753-9000
Northern Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Winnebago County Sheriff Gets An Earful; He's Still Reviewing Immigrant Detention Proposal

Susan Stephens
/
WNIJ
Winnebago County Board member Dorothy Redd asked for a show of hands from those opposing the proposal to allow ICE to house inmates in the Winnebago County Jail.

Emotions ran high at Tuesday night's forum on whether the Winnebago County Jail should open its doors to federal immigration inmates.

Sheriff Gary Caruana, left, and immigrant rights spokesman Fred Tsao

Sheriff Gary Caruana is in negotiations with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, who want to house immigrants with felonies awaiting deportation in unused sections of the jail.

In exchange for housing their inmates in a segregated area of the jail, Caruana wants veto power on who is housed, the option to withdraw from the agreement in 30 days, and $80 per inmate per day.

Panel member Fred Tsao, with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, drew applause from the audience when he voiced his objections.

“One of the things that upsets me most about the immigration detention system is the way that it’s being used as a revenue generator,” Tsao said. “It’s a form of selling bodies.”

Caruana says he understands the objections from the majority of people who have packed three public forums: 

"I have emotions, and I understand and feel what these folks are saying," Caruana said after the meeting. "At the same time, I have to run this business called law enforcement, and I have to be prudent with everybody's dollars." 

Caruana says the jail is 25 corrections officers short of full staffing, and the federal money would easily pay for the new hires. He says he is about two weeks away from making his decision, which still would need approval from the county board.

 

Susan is an award-winning reporter/writer at her favorite radio station. She's also WNIJ's Perspectives editor, Under Rocks contributor, and local host of All Things Considered.
Related Stories