GLADES COUNTY, Fla. — Channel 9 got an exclusive look into how illegal immigrants are housed, what that costs, and what this means for our community.
Investigative reporter Shannon Butler found out they have just taken in more than 100 gang members and others with criminal records, who will be removed from the U.S.
The ICE facility is in Glades County, in the middle of South Florida.
The detainees brought to the location are called “flight ready removals.” That means they have already gone through their appeals process and evaluations and in 10 to 14 days, they will be on a plane out of Florida.
In 2022, the Biden administration moved to limit the use of the county facility due to what it said was “persistent and ongoing concerns” related to detainee medical care, and described the facility as one of “limited operational significance.”
Now, it is back open again, and the sheriff says some of the complaints were unfounded, but other inspection failures have been addressed.
ICE officials released the following statement to Channel 9:
“The Glades County Jail center will serve as a staging area and allow greater capacity to address our immigration enforcement mission,” said acting Miami ICE Field Office Director Juan Agudelo. “The central location streamlines logistics and helps facilitate the timely processing of illegal aliens in our custody that are subject to arrest, detention and removal from our country.”
Watch the full report in the video above.
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