County receives undocumented criminal grant

McLeod County has received a $19,327 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to reimburse some of the cost of incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens who have committed serious crimes.

This year’s grant was about $4,000 more than a similar grant the county received last year, according to jail administrator Capt. Dennis Johnson.

“It would be based on the numbers that we booked in here and it’s determined by the correctional staff salaries,” Johnson said. “So, as our correctional officers’ income increases and our (undocumented criminal) inmate count increases, the grant recognizes that.”

Johnson said it’s possible area packing plants and factories make Glencoe and surrounding communities a nexus for undocumented workers. “And of course, we’re not all that far from the metro area, either,” he said.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)