A county prison in southeastern Pennsylvania is beginning to accept detainees in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement division.
The Montgomery County Correctional Facility's three-year contract is effective Friday. It requires the county to set aside up to 60 beds a day for detainees at the 2,012-bed complex in Lower Providence.
County Chief Financial Officer Uri Monson tells The Intelligencer that the detainees aren't dangerous criminals. He says they're waiting for processing on immigration violations or waiting to be deported.
The federal government will pay the county $74.50 a day for each detainee housed by the county.
Monson says some detainees may only be held at the facility for several hours while others might be there several days.
Local Prison to Hold Homeland Security Detainees
The Montgomery County Correctional Facility's three-year contract is effective Friday.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
