These Local Jails Were Supposed to Detain Immigrants for Only 72 Hours. One Woman Was Held for a Total of 26 Days.

An investigation by ProPublica has revealed that local jails in Florida were repeatedly rebooking immigrants to bypass federal detention limits. In Pinellas and Orange counties, officials allegedly released and immediately readmitted detainees just before their seventy-two hour legal limit expired, a practice legal experts say was used to evade federal standards for medical care and legal access. ProPublica reports that one woman was rebooked ten times, spending a total of twenty-six days in jail. While the Department of Homeland Security maintains that these custody determinations are lawful, the report notes that many of those rebooked had no criminal record beyond traffic offenses.

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