ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Approximately half of all immigrants booked into the Orange County Jail last month without any criminal charges were handed over to ICE agents and then sent directly back to the jail, data from jail leaders showed.
The process, known as “repeat booking,” had been rare in Orange County until this summer as immigration officials struggled with a lack of available beds at federal detention facilities.
Under the county’s agreement with federal authorities, immigrants without criminal charges can be housed at the jail for a maximum of 72 hours.
After that clock runs out, they must be handed over to ICE, which then books them back at the jail, resetting the clock.
The data WFTV requested from the jail showed that December did not have the highest number of repeat bookings as a percentage of bookings. That title belonged to July, when repeat bookings ballooned from 30 to 416, representing 54% of all immigrant bookings, excluding those with local criminal charges.
However, the federal government’s struggles, as ICE agents continue their push, have created a snowball effect. Immigrants being held at the jail rose from an average of 30 per day in October to more than 90 per day last month.
In December, both new bookings and repeat bookings also surpassed 500 for the first time.
“Not only do they not have enough space, they also don’t have enough immigration officers that are trained to process the paperwork that is needed for these people,” immigration attorney Frank Symphorien-Saavedra said. “You’re in this hole where ICE says they don’t have custody, the state says they don’t have custody, and meanwhile, somebody is in jail.”
The repeat bookings are coming at a cost to the county because the government does not reimburse the jail the full cost of keeping each immigrant detainee. The cost to local taxpayers amounts to $100 per immigrant per day, according to county staff.
Late last year, staff reported that the costs totaled more than $300,000. In an update this week, jail leaders stated that they were reviewing a second round of paperwork to increase the reimbursement rate and were hopeful that approval would be forthcoming soon.
Gov. DeSantis also said he’s waiting on approval for a third state-run immigration facility, to join “Alligator Alcatraz” and “Deportation Depot.”
“We’re going to continue to be supportive of that,” he said.
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