Protesters showed up to meetings for months, demanding that Cumberland County commissioners end the jail’s agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The agreement with ICE is part of a contract with the U.S. Marshals Service that says the jail will receive $150 per day for each federal detainee held at the facility. Commissioners, who struck down a proposal to end the contract in a 3-2 vote on Nov. 17, say it’s a crucial part of the jail’s funding.
Agreements with the Marshals Service are common — the federal agency contracts with about 1,200 state and local governments nationwide to rent jail space because it does not have facilities of its own, according to its website. In Maine, six of the state’s 15 jails told reporters that they have agreements.
The Cumberland County Jail is the only jail in Maine listed as a detention facility on ICE’s website, but two others — Somerset County Jail and Two Bridges Regional Jail — also have contracts with the Marshals Service that specify they will be paid to hold detainees for ICE. Two Bridges is also paid under its contract to hold detainees for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Franklin and York counties have agreements with U.S. Border Patrol that allow the jails to be paid for holding the agency’s detainees.
Several sheriffs and jail officials in Maine have said that, even without an agreement, they have an obligation to accept detainees from any law enforcement agency, including ICE and Border Patrol, under state law and jail standards.
Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster said he was aware of the controversy and close vote to keep the contract in place in Cumberland County. Lancaster, who was outspoken earlier this year about his opposition to a pending bill that would restrict local law enforcement’s work with federal immigration authorities, said he values his office’s relationships with federal agencies.
“What is happening right now is right now, but it won’t always be,” Lancaster said of the current political environment. “So, to compromise those relationships, I don’t think it’s healthy. And, also, we’re securing revenue that local Somerset County taxpayers aren’t having to pay.”
Scroll through the map below to see which county jails in Maine have contracts and agreements with federal agencies.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on Dec. 3 to clarify that Cumberland County never cancelled its contract with the U.S. Marshals Service; it temporarily stopped holding federal detainees in 2022 because of staffing shortages.
