Ice reopens glades county jail as immigration detention center with 500 new beds

MIAMI, Fla. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has reinstated its intergovernmental service agreement with Glades County, returning immigration detention operations to the Glades County Jail in Moore Haven, officials announced Wednesday.

Key Points

ICE reinstates agreement with Glades County to house detainees at Moore Haven jail.
Facility will add up to 500 detention beds for immigration processing.
ICE cites central location and growing regional enforcement needs for expansion.

The agreement allows ICE to utilize up to 500 beds at the facility, which will now serve as a federal immigration processing and detention center. The move is aimed at expanding detention capacity in Florida to support the agency’s enforcement and removal efforts.

“The Glades County Jail center will serve as a staging area and allow greater capacity to address our immigration enforcement mission,” said acting Miami ICE Field Office Director Juan Agudelo. “The central location streamlines logistics and helps facilitate the timely processing of illegal aliens in our custody that are subject to arrest, detention and removal from our country.”

The announcement marks a return to operations at the Glades County Jail, which had previously housed ICE detainees before operations were scaled back or suspended. ICE did not provide details on when detainee transfers to the facility would begin.

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Officials say the expanded capacity at the Moore Haven site is intended to ease pressure on other regional facilities and allow for faster processing times amid rising immigration enforcement activity in the region.

ICE described the facility’s location in central Florida as a strategic advantage, supporting logistical efficiency in transporting and processing detainees across the state.

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