West Virginia jails renting beds to ICE to hold immigrant detainees, making state at least $330K

Beds in multiple state jails are reserved for immigrants detained during President Trump’s immigration crackdown

South Central Regional Jail in Charleston, West Virginia, is one of three jails in the state renting bed to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold detainees. (Photo by Lexi Browing/West Virginia Watch)

By Amelia Ferrell Knisely | West Virginia Watch

This article was originally published by West Virginia Watch, an independent, nonpartisan news service based in Charleston. You can make a donation here.

Three West Virginia jails are being used to house immigrant detainees in a deal that has made the state’s corrections division more than $333,000 so far this year.

During President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, 48 West Virginia beds have been made available daily under the contract with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, according to West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokesperson Andy Malinoski.

“Inmates are moved within the facility to accommodate ICE detainees,” he said.

There were 101 ICE inmates detained as of Sept. 29, according to state corrections records. The immigrants could be from anywhere in the country as they await their next steps in the process. 

ICE pays West Virginia $90 for each day it holds an ICE detainee — about the same amount the state pays per day for each incarcerated person. From June 2024 to July of this year, the state billed ICE for a total of $339,615.

South Central Regional Jail in Charleston, Northern Regional Jail in Moundsville and Eastern Regional Jail in Martinsburg are designated ICE detention centers. Western Regional Jail is “usually only holding an ICE inmate that has a pending state/city charge and for no longer than 72 hours,” Malinoski said.

West Virginia jails have regularly been at capacity or crowded, prompting safety concerns. In the last decade, the state’s jails were the deadliest in the country.

Most immigration violations are a civil offense, like an expired visa or improper entry into the United States. Immigrants with no criminal record are now the largest group in the country’s immigration detention centers, according to data released by ICE.

ICE has a network of 200 detention facilities nationwide, including county jails. Immigration rights advocates have raised concerns about conditions at detention centers, saying county jails don’t have to provide immigrants the same level of legal and medical services compared to ICE facilities.

In other states, some county jails are using the contract with ICE to shore up their budgets and pay down jail bills. The corrections division did not say if this was the case in West Virginia.

DCR Commissioner David Kelly recently told lawmakers that multiple West Virginia counties were unable to pay their jail bills, pushing the cost onto the state. West Virginia counties pay the state per inmate per day to house inmates at regional jails.

The state corrections division is participating in Gov. Patrick Morrisey partnership with ICE that gives specially-trained police officers and National Guard members the authority to perform specified immigration enforcement functions.

Law enforcement can question people on their immigration status during routine police duties. 

As part of the program, Division of Corrections officers will serve and execute administrative warrants for undocumented immigrants who currently are in state correctional facilities. During a press conference about the program, Kelly said it would reduce the premature release of potentially dangerous individuals into communities.