Overview

Knox County (Knoxville) has seen a dramatic surge in ICE detentions — from 821 in 2024 to 3,470 in 2025 — after entering a 287(g) jail enforcement model agreement and an ICE bed contract. Critically, the county is losing money on each detainee: ICE pays $83-$114/day but actual costs are ~$140/day.

Key Details

Detention numbers

• 2024: 821 immigration detainees
• 2025: 3,470 immigration detainees (4.2x increase)
  • 3,070 held under the bed contract (ICE sends detainees to the jail)
  • 400 entered on local charges, then held on immigration detainers

Financial impact

• ICE reimbursement: $83-$114 per detainee per day
• Actual cost: ~$140 per detainee per day
• ICE payments received: ~$1.5 million in 2025
• Total cost to county in 2025: ~$130K spent in first half of 2025 alone (net loss)
• The gap means Knox County taxpayers subsidize federal immigration detention

Data revision controversy

• Knox County Sheriff’s Office initially reported 964 detainees to media
• Later revised to approximately 3,500 “detainers” placed and 400 “immigration holds”
• Cited “counting differences in updated data”

287(g) model

• Knox and Greene counties operate under the Jail Enforcement Model
• Can detain individuals within jails after they are arrested for a crime
• Knox County Commission passed a symbolic resolution encouraging continued ICE cooperation

Community monitoring

• AKIN (Allies of Knoxville’s Immigrant Neighbors) actively tracks ICE operations in East Tennessee
• Published detailed report on “How ICE Operates in East Tennessee” (March 2026)

Sources

• ICE detainees in Knox County Jail have quadrupled (WBIR)
• Knox County revises ICE detention totals (WBIR)
• Knox County has spent almost $130K housing ICE inmates (WVLT, Jul 2025)
• Federal contract outlines Knox County’s commitment (WVLT, Jan 2025)
• How ICE Operates in East Tennessee (AKIN, Mar 2026)
• How two sheriff’s offices work with ICE under 287(g) (WATE)

Other signals in this county