Overview

The Lexington County Detention Center is the most active ICE processing point in South Carolina’s Midlands, despite having only 12 beds reserved for ICE detainees. The beds “churn” constantly within 72-hour hold windows — ICE must move detainees out daily to make room for incoming arrests. This demand-exceeds-capacity dynamic is the strongest signal for detention expansion pressure in the state.

Key Details

Volume:

• 781 ICE detainees began their custody with a stay at Lexington County Jail in 2025.
• ICE arrested 203 people in the jail from January through mid-October 2025 under the 287(g) JEM program.
• ICE agents transport detainees to federal detention centers “pretty much daily.”
• Arrests in Lexington and Richland counties combined: 315 through mid-October 2025, up from 157 in all of 2024 — more than doubled.

Contract:

• IGSA signed between U.S. Marshals Service, ICE, and Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.
• Federal reimbursement: $67.95 per detainee per day.
• 287(g) JEM agreement since June 8, 2020 (one of SC’s original three).

Enforcement Model:

• Sheriff Jay Koon emphasizes jail-based enforcement only — deputies are not conducting “street-level” operations.
• The sheriff’s department has refused to tell reporters what charges ICE detainees were originally taken into custody for.
• 158 people taken into custody in the Midlands were deported through mid-October 2025; almost two-thirds had not been convicted of a crime.

Performance Bonuses (from Oct 1, 2025):

• DHS reimburses annual salary and benefits for each trained 287(g) officer.
• Overtime up to 25% of salary.
• $1,000/quarter per officer for “90-100% assistance to ICE’s mission.”

Why This Matters

Lexington County’s 12-bed churning pattern is a capacity constraint that creates expansion pressure. The jail processes hundreds of ICE detainees annually through a tiny number of beds, meaning either more bed space will be needed in the Midlands or detainees will continue being transferred out of state (primarily to Georgia facilities: Atlanta City Detention Center, Stewart Detention Center, Irwin County, North Georgia). The $67.95/day rate is relatively low compared to other jurisdictions, suggesting room for ICE to offer more to expand capacity.

The refusal to disclose original arrest charges, combined with the stat that two-thirds of those deported had no criminal conviction, raises serious questions about the nature of 287(g) JEM enforcement in practice.

Sources

• Lexington County’s jail has been ‘churning’ with detainees since Trump’s ICE crackdown — Post & Courier
• How ICE quietly doubled arrests in Lexington and Richland counties since Trump took office — Post & Courier
• 5 ugly facts about ICE collaboration in South Carolina — ACLU-SC
• 2022 ICE Detention Inspection Report — Lexington County