January 27, 2026--Jackson County Legislature Chairman, Manuel Abarca IV, will introduce Ordinance No. 6061, legislation that would establish a moratorium on county approvals for non-County or municipal government owned detention facilities through January 15, 2031.
The ordinance would prohibit approvals that would allow the acquisition, construction, facilitation, or expansion of a non-municipal detention facility, including building permits, special use permits, zoning applications, plan review, project plans, development plans, and zoning changes, when the application for the project was filed on or after January 15, 2026. The moratorium would not apply to facilities that are municipally owned or operated.
“When federal power is putting communities are on edge, local government has a responsibility to act where we have authority,” said Chairman Abarca. “Jackson County should not be complicit in building the infrastructure for enforcement operations that are routinely violating due process and constitutional rights.”
“We control our permits, zoning, and county approvals, and we’re using those tools to stop any project like this from moving forward here,” continued Abarca. “With credible reports that a massive ICE detention center is being explored in our region, now is the time for local government to draw a clear line and refuse to facilitate mass detention.”
Because of weather, the ordinance’s introduction has been moved from January 26 to the February 2 meeting.