ICE Protest on the lawn

IVY JACOBS PHOTO - A small group representing the Mariposa Legal and Cosecha Indiana gathered on the front lawn of the Clay County Courthouse Thursday, September 23.

On Thursday, September 23, Mariposa Legal and Cosecha Indiana members gathered on the front lawn of the Clay County Courthouse to protest President Joe Biden’s policy on immigrant detention centers.

More than 20 town halls were held across the country as a part of the Detention Watch Network’s call to “#FreeThemAll.”

The Clay County Justice Center, 611 East Jackson Street, Brazil, has contracted with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and serves as a regional detention center for ICE since 2013.

IVY JACOBS PHOTO - A small group representing the Mariposa Legal and Cosecha Indiana gathered on the front lawn of the Clay County Courthouse Thursday, September 23. The protest was for President Joe Biden’s policy on immigrant detention centers, and the Clay County Justice Center is the only one in Indiana.

Local officials are currently on a fact-finding, number-crunching mission to determine the jail facility should be expanded.

The Indiana Department of Corrections sets a classification threshold of 80%, meaning it is full, which the CCJC has been exceeding that threshold since 2016

The CCJC is the only ICE detainee facility in Indiana. The arrangement with the federal agency generates upward of $1.4 million annually.

That funding will help pay off the existing jail bond and allow the county to take advantage of lower bond interest rates without causing any additional tax rates to county residents.

Officials say it is unknown how long this development process will take.