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An Indiana corrections official says the federal government has been making payments to the state for housing immigrant detainees after an initial delay.
Indiana Department of Correction Commissioner Lloyd Arnold told members of the State Budget Committee on Thursday that the department recently received new payments for housing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees in February. Arnold did not specify the exact amount, but he said the total reimbursement is now at about $22 million. The Indiana Lawyer reached out to an IDOC spokesperson for clarity on the February payment, but did receive an immediate response.
The first federal payment of $5.1 million came in February and covered expenses for October and November 2025.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle reported last month that the state then received $4.7 million around the beginning of May for December expenses.
And last week, IDOC spokesperson Noelle Russell told The Lawyer that the department has received $5.2 million for January expenses.
Responding to questions from Democratic state Rep. Ed DeLaney, an alternate member on the budget committee, Arnold said that he expects to receive payments for March expenses next month.
“It roughly takes about 100 days to start receiving those payments,” Arnold said.
The state entered into a two-year contract with the Department of Homeland Security on Oct. 1, 2025, agreeing to house up to 1,000 ICE detainees at Miami Correctional Facility in Bunker Hill, Indiana.
Per the contract, the feds agreed to pay the state about $291 per detainee per day.
Based on a report provided to the committee in March, the IDOC had spent about $10.5 million on housing detainees since October.
About 600 immigrant detainees are being held at Miami Correctional Facility every day now, up from about 500 in months past.
At the Thursday meeting, IDOC officials requested nearly $5 million in various capital improvement projects for several of its facilities, including replacing HVACs and other systems.
Arnold said he would like to see the federally received funds support those projects in the future, rather than pulling from the state’s general fund.
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