Northern Kentucky's ICE Detainees: Who Are They Really?

Northern Kentucky is seeing a huge rise in ICE detainees, with numbers set to more than double by the end of this year. But who are these people, and why are they being held? The truth might surprise you. Most of the detainees aren't violent criminals. In fact, less than 2% have committed violent crimes. The majority are facing minor charges like traffic violations or drug offenses. And get this - over 40% of them haven't been charged with any crime at all. They're just here because of immigration violations, which are mostly civil offenses. The counties are making a lot of money from this. Boone County alone made $4. 5 million last year from its ICE contract. This year, the three counties have already made at least $5. 2 million from detaining immigrants. It's big business for them. The detainees come from all over the world - 59 countries to be exact. Most are from Mexico and Guatemala, and nearly all are men. Some choose to leave the country voluntarily instead of being deported. It gives them a chance to return legally later. The length of time people are held varies widely. Some are only detained for a day, while others stay for over 200 days. On average, detainees are held for about 43 days. So why the spike in detentions? It's a mix of increased federal resources and new contracts with local jails. The jails are making more money from ICE detainees than from their own inmates. It's all about the best use of their resources, they say. Kenton County has even expanded its cooperation with ICE. They've signed agreements to have specially trained officers handle ICE detainees. But these programs haven't started yet because ICE hasn't provided the necessary training.