Court Orders Extends Stay Of ICE Detainees In McHenry Co. Jail

WOODSTOCK, IL — Nearly a month after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by McHenry County officials which extended a federal contract allowing federal detainees to be held the county jail, an appeals court has provided a stay which provides the county more time to exercise its termination clause in its deal with ICE officials.

McHenry County officials said in a news release Thursday that the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the order, which extends the deadline the county was facing at year's end until Jan. 13. Without the order, the facility which has averaged housing an average of 180 federal detainees would have had to move the remaining prisoners out of the county by Jan. 1.

Under the stay, McHenry County will continue to house US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees while a federal court considers the county’s lawsuit challenging the Illinois Way Forward Act, the county said.

“We’re very glad to get this stay to preserve our longtime contract with ICE as we argue our case,” McHenry County Board Chairman Mike Buehler (R-Crystal Lake) said in a news release. “The Illinois Way Forward Act is an unconstitutional and poorly thought-out law that was hastily thrown together by the General Assembly to make a political statement regarding current federal immigration enforcement.”

The Illinois Way Forward Act prohibits county jails from being used to house those who are accused of being in the United States illegally. The Chicago Tribune reported earlier this month that ICE has paid McHenry County about $8 million per year to house the detainees while they were awaiting court hearings.

The McHenry County Jail is one of only four county jails in Illinois to have American Correctional Association accreditation, which is awarded for having the highest and most stringent standards for “protection, safety, and humanity”, county officials said in the news release.

The Northwest Herald reported that earlier this week, there were 61 detainees still at the facility in Woodstock.

The McHenry County Board spent a year studying and thoughtfully deliberating whether the ICE contract should be continued, before voting in May to keep it.

McHenry County and Kankakee County filed suit Sept. 1 in U.S. District Court to challenge the constitutionally of the act. The court dismissed the case Dec. 7, and both counties appealed the ruling shortly after, which led to Thursday’s stay.

“We are pleased with this decision by a higher court,” State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally said in the release. “We are eager to continue this fight, pushing back against hasty and politically punitive legislation micromanaging the affairs of counties at the behest of Springfield activists.”