The 865-bed Etowah County jail will now be partially filled with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees.

The jail facility has housed ICE detainees from 1998 until 2021, so this will not be a new experience for the Sheriff’s Department. In 2022, President Biden’s administration closed 16 of 32 facilities in four states, and the Etowah facility was one of the 16 shuttered.

According to WBRC, Etowah County Sheriff Jonathon Horton has been in Washington, D.C., since last Friday at the National Meeting of the Sheriff’s Association. While at the meeting, ICE Deputy Director Tom Homan encouraged U.S. sheriffs to help them house and detain immigrants in their jails.

Horton said his department passed a facilities inspection in 2021 and will undergo a new inspection in a couple of weeks. Following the inspection, authorities will be ready to resume holding individuals in Etowah County.

Sherri Blevins is a writer for Mountain Valley News and a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at [email protected].