Marion County sheriff discusses ICE detainments; claims IDOC owes county $1.7M for housing state inmates

INDIANAPOLIS — Marion County Sheriff Kerry Forestal addressed several questions centered on Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees and the county’s efforts to house a growing population of Indiana Department of Correction inmates.

According to a news release that was shared Tuesday afternoon, Sheriff Forestal said the Marion County Jail and Adult Detention Center has never housed more than 128 ICE detainees at one time.

Forestal noted that larger inmate numbers have been recorded before, but that was owed to the numbers reflecting all individuals who were processed and released during the calendar year and did not reference the number housed at any given time.

The release stated that the federal government pays the jail $75 daily to house these detainees, which is then allocated toward the Indianapolis and Marion County City-County budget.

Forestal then weighed in on the Marion County Jail’s current inmate population, which he said includes over 200 inmates who were sentenced and housed by the IDOC. Forestal said the state pays $42 per day for these inmates to be housed there, while the actual cost is $85.

“At this rate, it will cost Marion County taxpayers nearly $3,000,000 annually to house DOC prisoners,” Sheriff Forestal said in the release. “Additionally, the DOC has not paid us for their prisoners since April of 2024 — yes, 2024 — and currently owes Indianapolis/Marion County $1.7 million.”

The sheriff noted that the Adult Detention Center was initially built to house 149 federal prisoners, but added that the Marion County Sheriff’s Office does not influence who is held for federal charges.

The release concluded with the sheriff throwing his support behind “policy changes in Marion County to reduce crime” while noting that the jail population is continuing to increase and that housing state prisoners contributes to this.