YORK COUNTY, Pa. — York County Prison will no longer house immigration detainees after officials couldn’t reach a deal with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The announcement came as a huge relief for many affected by the ICE detention center.
Anayeli Ortiz, a mother of four from Mexico, was terrified the entire 15 days her husband spent in the facility. He was detained following a car crash.
“My daughter was only 2 years old and she was always say, ‘Where is my daddy? Why doesn’t he come, Mommy?’” she said.
Celeste Salinas Rugerio, 16, who will graduate high school next year, hasn’t seen her father in the years since he was deported.
“Before my father was sent back to Mexico, deported, I got to see him one last time in this facility, and I couldn’t understand why I had to say goodbye.”
Antonio Chinchilla immigrated to the U.S. five years ago to work in agriculture. He was detained for two years in York County’s ICE facility. Antonio decried what he said was poor treatment and conditions inside:
“Those people are more criminal than I. They should be ashamed because they are violating God’s laws.”
The decision to part ways with ICE was purely budgetary, officials said.
ICE gives York County Prison funds to house detainees—about $18 million in 2020—but a dwindling prison population and new standards for their upkeep were making the county lose money from the contract overall.
York County Prison has been a hub for ICE for nearly three decades. ICE now has until Aug. 12 to vacate the property with its workers and inmates.
There are 316 ICE inmates currently at the prison, officials said. That’s down from a peak of 600 to 700 inmates.
Officials said they could no longer afford to maintain capacity for the previous higher numbers of inmates.
“Because this involves ICE doesn't make it any different from any other contract negotiation we look at,” said York County President Commissioner Julie Wheeler. “We've had a great relationship with the federal government. This is not ending on a sour note in any way shape or form.”
Regardless of the reason behind the decision, immigration reform advocates celebrated it. Community organization CASA held a rally outside the prison Thursday evening.
“We are certain that the voices of the community have been heard over the years,” said CASA Pennsylvania Director Thaís Carrero.
County officials said they planned to use the vacated space for additional programs in the future, such as probationary and reentry services.