Q4 2024 stats show just small amount of detainees picked up by ICE

The Polk County Sheriffs Office released data today for the first time ahead of the new legal requirements put in place by the state legislature last year.

Back in May 2024, HB 1105 was signed into law and required that jail facilities begin reporting back to the state how many illegal immigrants are being detained behind bars, and how many of those are being taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Department of Homeland Security.

Here’s a look at those numbers:

Jail administrator Major Rachel Haddix explained that PCSO is getting ahead of the requirements and posting the first batch of figures collected during the final quarter of 2024. Jails aren’t technically required to report their numbers to the state until after the first quarter of 2025 concludes at the end of March.

She noted that the figures presented prior to required collection match those in years past to what was reported with the fourth quarter from 2024’s arrest data.

“We have a diverse demographic, so our numbers are typically a little higher than surrounding areas,” she said.

Out of 525 people who were booked for any reason and citizen or not into the jail between October 1 and December 31, 2024, just 32 of those were found to be an illegal immigrant. When the Sheriff’s Office sent info for the less than three dozen who were picked up by police at one point or another during the past three months, only four of them were requested to be held by ICE.

When all was said and done, ICE came and got three of the individuals, and dropped their order to hold on a fourth – less than 10% of the total number of illegal immigrants who came through the jail sallyport for booking.

This does not include anyone who might be in the country illegally picked up on what would be considered charges that don’t require fingerprinting.

For instance, a public drunkenness charge would not require a suspect to go through the same booking process as someone who is being charged with theft, so an illegal immigrant picked up for drinking too much would under previous rules never get to the level of being reported to ICE. Whereas the counterpart facing theft charges would get fingerprinted, information sent onward to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and shared with ICE.

Now Haddix said the jail is sending information in on all individuals arrested who do not have a social security number, so as to ensure individuals who otherwise might be detained per ICE’s request can be held until a decision is made about their immigration status.

The goal of the new procedure is to provide a more accurate figure of booking data for those who have illegal status and ensure that the state is getting the most accurate count they can on the issue.