MEDFORD — Inmates with no-bail immigration holds placed upon them by the federal government make up close to 10 percent of the Jackson County Jail population, a number that has held steady for the past five years, according to Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters.

Out of approximately 230 current inmates, 23 have been tagged with no-bail holds by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Winters said the number is manageable with his present level of jail staff, but an increase could create problems in the future if more illegal immigrants are arrested on state and local charges.

"We deal with it effectively at this time, but we would struggle if the number of inmates with ICE holds would, say, double over the next few years," Winters said.

People arrested on suspicion of being in the country illegally pose unique problems for county jails because the suspects are usually not released on bail to appear in court at a later date.

ICE spokesperson Lorie Dankers said state courts can grant suspected illegal immigrants bail, but the person would immediately be taken into ICE custody upon release from a county jail. "Once they posted bail, we would transport them to our holding center in Tacoma," Dankers said. "They would wait there until their court date to face state charges."

Dankers said this would ultimately cost taxpayers more in federal services by constantly moving suspected illegal aliens long distances to make court appearances.

At one time, the Jackson County Jail saw close to 400 early releases a month because of overcrowding. This number has dropped significantly over the past five years, allowing the jail to absorb the number of inmates on no-bail immigration holds without letting suspected violent offenders — or "frequent flyers" — go free, Winters said.

"So far this year we have had only 200 forced releases," Winters said. "These are people who were in custody on low-level thefts and other minor crimes."

Since the agency has focused on keeping multiple offenders behind bars until their court dates, the forced release numbers have dropped.

"We also have worked much more closely in recent years with Jackson County Community Justice on keeping track of people charged with crimes who are allowed to remain out of jail until their court dates," Winters said. "This keeps jail space free for more serious offenders."

Since ICE does not enforce state and local crimes, it is up to county jails to house suspected illegal aliens charged with crimes such as drug sale and delivery, domestic violence and even murder.

Dankers said she has heard frustration from immigration-reform advocates who believe ICE should immediately deport illegal immigrants when they are arrested for a crime.

"They think this will save taxpayers money, and it probably would, but then these criminals would just be released free in their home countries and would not be held accountable for their crimes in the United States," Dankers said. "I think U.S. citizens want criminals to pay for their actions at the local level."

Once an illegal immigrant serves the entirety of a prison sentence, ICE ships the suspect to a deportation center for flight back to another country.

ICE reimburses county agencies for jail space used for illegal aliens whose cases have been adjudicated locally and who are waiting for transport to an immigration detention center.

"If it takes us a few days to pick up an illegal immigrant, we pay for the use of the jail bed," Dankers said.

Federal agencies already rent 25 beds from the Jackson County Jail, Winters said.

"If we have someone from out of state set to appear in the federal court in Medford, we will house them in our facility," Winters said. "The federal government pays the $100 or so it costs to keep an inmate at our jail."

Winters said few pleasant options exist when dealing with illegal immigrants who commit crimes in Jackson County.

"Yes, it does costs us, but it is necessary that we house them on state and local crimes," Winters said. "Dropping local charges and turning them over to ICE does not solve the problem, because they will just show up in our area again."

Reach reporter Chris Conrad at 541-776-4471; or e-mail cconrad@mailtribune.com.