Sheriff James Reed | https://sheriff.bureaucounty-il.gov/about/#sheriff
Sheriff James Reed | https://sheriff.bureaucounty-il.gov/about/#sheriff
Bureau County Jail officials have no records of housing illegal aliens in the jail in the time period since July 1, 2021.
The jail confirmed to Illinois Valley Times on Tuesday, May 7 that they have not housed any illegal aliens in their jail during that time frame in response to a Freedom of Information Request.
On Thursday, May 2, West Central Reporter asked the jail for a list of illegal alien inmates and the taxpayer cost of housing them.
Bureau County Jail has a capacity of up to 36 inmates as of 2024.
Illinois is a so-called “Sanctuary State.” In 2021, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a law barring police from reporting illegal alien crime to federal immigration officials, for fear they would be deported to their country of origin.
In March, the sheriff of Butler County, Ohio reported that his jail had housed 999 illegal aliens since July 1, 2021 at a cost of $1,757 per inmate, or $1.8 million to taxpayers.
An Oct. 2020 U.S. Department of Justice report estimated that, at the 2019, there were 51,074 “known or suspected” illegal aliens in U.S. federal jails and that the average cost to house a prisoner was $88.19 per day. The report found that housing illegal aliens in these jails costs U.S. taxpayers $4.5 million per day and $1.64 billion per year.
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