In a rural corner of Lake County, Michigan, the North Lake Correctional Facility has reopened its doors as an ICE detention center, sparking questions about its current population count. The facility, situated near Baldwin, began operations again in mid-June, but the exact number of detainees remains elusive.
Counting Challenges
ICE’s method for reporting detention numbers adds complexity to deciphering the current population of facilities like North Lake. Every two weeks, ICE releases datasets that reflect the average daily population of each center since the fiscal year began on October 1. This data, however, presents figures with a two-week lag.
As of July 7, the data reflected numbers from June 23, yet North Lake was notably absent from the list. This omission occurs because ICE only includes facilities that have an average of more than one detainee per day since the fiscal year started.
Adam Sawyer, an expert in immigration enforcement data with Relevant Research, explains the formula: “They take … the number of people that have been detained [at each facility] since October 1, add it up, and then divide by the number of fiscal year days.”
For North Lake to appear in the dataset, the total number of detainee days must exceed the fiscal year days, which by June 23 stood at 266. This implies that in its first week of operation, North Lake likely held fewer than 38 detainees on average each day.
Background of the Formula
The current reporting method has been in place since a 2019 law mandated ICE to provide average daily population figures instead of daily counts. This approach remains unchanged under the Biden administration.
Efforts to ascertain the number of detainees are not limited to journalists. Groups like No Detention Centers in Michigan and the ACLU are also seeking transparency. Ewurama Appiagyei-Dankah from the ACLU of Michigan highlights, “Members of Congress have the legal right to visit immigration detention facilities without providing any prior notice.” The hope is that congressional oversight could shed more light on the situation.
Implications for North Lake
The facility, owned by the private GEO Group, has a capacity of 1,800 beds, yet neither GEO Group nor ICE has disclosed how many beds are currently utilized by ICE. The contract is valued at $70 million for the first year, but exact terms remain undisclosed, often shielded under trade secret claims.
For those seeking insight into North Lake’s operations, options are limited. They include ICE data, potential congressional visits, and local journalism. As Sawyer remarks, “Just to know if what I’m seeing in the administrative data is consistent with what other people who are on the ground are reporting.” Thus, both researchers and reporters continue to seek clarity on the ground reality.
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