W.Va. pauses putting immigrant detainees in jails after judges find constitutional violations

In the last few months, federal judges have ordered the immediate release of numerous immigrant detainees — many without criminal records — who were held without due process in West Virginia’s overcrowded jails. The arrests stemmed from “Operation County Roads,� where more than 600 undocumented immigrants were arrested during ICE operations across West Virginia in January. 

“Due to a recent court order, the regional jail system has temporarily suspended accepting detainees,� said Andy Malinoski, spokesperson for the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. “We will continue communicating with our federal partners as the courts address these matters. Note that our facilities are still accepting anyone who is facing pending state criminal charges.�

The Gazette-Mail first reported the move on March 7.

Malinowski did not answer additional questions about the court order.

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin issued “a final notice� to the federal government over continued unlawful detaining of immigrants in West Virginia while ordering the release of another immigrant detainee. 

“Continued detention without individualized custody determinations, after this court’s repeated holdings that such detention violates the Fifth Amendment, will result in legal consequences,� Goodwin wrote, saying that consequences could affect state jails officials. 

Following judges’ orders to release immigrants from due to constitutional violations, Goodwin said that federal officials had provided no factual dispute or no legal argument beyond what the court previously rejected.

“The government is wrong. Judges in this district have said that over and over and over,� Goodwin said.

Morrisey did not respond to questions for this story at the time of publication, including whether state police would pause ICE operations. 

The Republican governor has touted the partnership with ICE, saying in a news release that the hundreds of immigration-related arrests in January “removed dangerous illegal immigrants from our communities and made our state safer for families and law-abiding citizens.�

West Virginia has been renting jail beds to ICE for $90 a day. Hundreds of immigrant detainees have been held in jails around the state — some arrested in West Virginia and others who have flowed through the country’s jail system from out of state immigration arrests. 

DCR received $728,460 in payments from ICE for calendar year 2025, according to Malinoski.