U.S. immigration officials announced Friday that they would stop using the Etowah County Detention Center, in Gadsden, to house detainees.

The decision was based on the jail having “serious deficiencies,” according to a press release from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Etowah County Detention Center, which houses the county’s jail and the federal detention area, has come under a litany of complaints for decades. The complaints have included physical conditions at the jail, improper actions by personnel and inadequate health care.

Etowah County Sheriff Jonathon Horton told the Gadsden Times that the news came as a shock to him. “It was just a bombshell,” Horton told the Times. He also said ICE just this week notified him it would be sending 135 more detainees to the jail.

The detention center, where the county has its jail as well as the federal detention area, has come under a litany of complaints for decades. The complaints have included physical conditions at the jail, improper actions by personnel and inadequate health care.

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BirminghamWatch’s Virginia MacDonald explored complaints about the Etowah County Detention Center in this 2019 report:

Alabama Site for Detained Immigrants Has History of Abuse Charges, Efforts to Close It

 

 

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When Horton took over the jail, he pledged to clean up a bad situation, even allowing the crew of “60 Days In” to film there so he could get a better look at what was happening behind the scenes.

Horton said changes were made after problems were revealed during filming, but activists have complained that the changes did not go far enough.

ICE also announced in its press release that it will limit its use of three other detention facilities, Glades County Detention Center in Moore Haven, Florida; Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana; and Alamance County Detention Facility in Graham, North Carolina.