Overview

The Boone County Detention Center in Burlington, KY is the only full-time ICE detention center in Kentucky and has held ICE detainees since 2005. It anchors the Northern Kentucky ICE detention corridor (Boone, Campbell, Kenton counties) near Cincinnati.

Key Facts

• ICE detainees (Feb 2026): 202 (highest in state)
• Contract since: 2005
• Contract structure: Subcontract with U.S. Marshals Service Prisoner Operations Division (two-year auto-renewing)
• Overcrowding: State inspectors found 2 overcrowded cells (Nov 2024); 4 dorms + 3 cells overcrowded (Jan 2024 inspection)

Growth Timeline

• Jan 2025: ~120 detainees (only full-time ICE facility in KY)
• Aug 2025: Nearly doubled (part of statewide 659% increase)
• Feb 2026: 202 detainees

Why It Matters

Boone County was the seed from which Kentucky’s entire detention system grew. As ICE needed more beds in 2025, it expanded outward from Boone County to eight additional county jails. The Northern Kentucky cluster (Boone + Campbell + Kenton) collectively holds ~465 ICE detainees — nearly half the state total — creating a de facto detention hub serving the Cincinnati-area ERO field office.

Sources

• LPM: Inside Kentucky’s ICE detention center (Feb 2025)
• LPM: Report: Kentucky jails contracting with ICE have 659% increase in detainees
• Kentucky Lantern: More than 1,000 people being held by ICE in Kentucky jails