BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - As Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities face increased attention nationally, ICE detainees are housed at the Burleigh-Morton Detention Center, but jail officials say they make up only a small portion of the facility’s population.In Burleigh County, ICE detainees are housed at the Burleigh-Morton Detention Center.Major Trent Wangen said the facility is not dedicated to immigration detention. Instead, it serves as a regional detention center for over 20 local, state and federal agencies.“We’ve always helped the regional counties and housed inmates for those counties. Plus, then our federal partners, which would include the U.S. Marshal Service, Bureau of Prisons and Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” Wangen said.The jail currently houses about 400 people; roughly half are being held for Burleigh and Morton Counties.Wangen said about 10 or 11 detainees are here for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.He said some detainees first spend time in smaller county jails before being transferred to larger facilities with available bed space. Burleigh-Morton is one of the few facilities in North Dakota that can regularly help accommodate those needs.“For property tax, our revenue offsets our operational costs, and it lowers the daily costs,” Wangen said.According to Wangen, those contracts not only help offset operational expenses at the detention center but also address jail bed shortages across the state.Inmates are housed according to security classifications, criminal history and behavior rather than the agency that brought them to the facility.“With the detainees that we hold for the immigration and customs enforcement, most of them are classified at a lower level. Most of them are classified more at a minimum security level,” Wangen said.ICE detainees typically stay at the facility for one to two weeks before being released or transferred as their cases move through the federal immigration system. This is shorter than the average stay for other federal agencies, but similar to those from other sheriff’s offices.Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.