The windfall that incited us to Abide in Love.
Ozark County Jail in Gainesville, Missouri, has negotiated a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to transport and temporarily hold detainees.
Photo by Jesse Bogan/The Marshall Project
Rural Missouri Jails See Windfall in Trump’s Mass Deportation Effort
As cash-strapped jails rush in for ICE contracts, one man’s death shows the complexity and risk of detaining immigrants.
The Marshall Project | By Jesse Bogan, Doug Livingston
Published May 19, 2025 at 6:00 a.m. CDT
…Ozark County is one of many places, big and small, that the Trump administration is depending on to pull off one of the largest mass deportations from the U.S. in recent history. An enormous ramp-up in detention capacity is underway. New contracts are being negotiated. Existing contracts with the federal government are being expanded. In the ICE contract’s infancy, Ozark County is already reaping the benefits by raising wages and hiring for new positions in law enforcement.
As of early May, tracking reports show ICE contracting with or operating 147 public and private detention facilities, including three in Missouri. That’s up from 107 facilities reported in the final days of the Biden administration. On Feb. 24, Martin signed a contract for Ozark County, which isn’t yet on the list…