Illinois county tables decision to keep jail's ICE contract

WOODSTOCK, Ill. (AP) - A county board has tabled a decision on whether a northern Illinois jail will continuing its agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain immigrants.

The contract with ICE has been around since 2004, though the board hasn't looked at it since 2014. The agreement has brought in an average of $6.8 million a year for the last three years, according to the Northwest Herald.

The resolution will come up again at the McHenry County Board's Sept. 15 meeting after it was tabled at a recent meeting.

Board member Carlos Acosta said profiting off immigration detention has made him uneasy.

'œI understand we need to be fiscally responsible, but it's like would we then start investing in tobacco stock or oil stock?'ť Acosta said. 'œThe source of revenue does bother me, you know, that we're making money off of ICE detention.'ť

Activists have also expressed concerns about the treatment of detainees.

However, others are worried about the loss of revenue. A committee has already rejected the resolution.

A message left Sunday for an ICE spokeswoman wasn't immediately returned.