Half of the population at the Yuba County Jail is made up of immigrants held for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an arrangement that county officials say provides vital financial support to the community. But the county has been under court order to improve the jail’s conditions for 38 years, and ICE auditors have found problems at the jail in the past. Throw in a contentious national debate over immigration policy and Yuba County finds its ICE contract questioned by immigration and prisoner rights advocates, and challenged by state legislators. In this segment we’ll look at one county’s complicated relationship with immigration and why problems in its jail have persisted.
Guests:
Lisa Pickoff-White, data reporter and senior producer, KQED
Julie Small, reporter, KQED’s criminal justice and immigration hub
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