An investigation by ProPublica has uncovered that local jails in Florida, including Pinellas and Polk counties, repeatedly rebooked immigrants detained for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), effectively extending their detention beyond the 72-hour limit set for local holding.

Soumia Bensalah, a French Moroccan with a pending green card application, was taken from the Pinellas County Jail and transported to an ICE holding facility every three days in December 2025, a process she described as leaving her exhausted and humiliated. Legal experts noted this pattern of release and rebooking at regular 72-hour intervals was deliberate.

In another case, a woman from Mexico was rebooked into Pinellas County Jail 10 times, spending a total of 26 days detained before being transferred to an ICE facility and eventually released on a $2,000 bond, according to Deportation Data Project figures.

The Pinellas County Jail held at least 157 immigrants for ICE for longer than three business days in a single booking since January 2025, coinciding with an increase in ICE detainees from under 7% to 18% of total bookings over that year.

Following these findings, County Mayor Jerry Demings sent a letter to ICE limiting inmates to one continuous housing period of up to 72 hours per immigration matter. After this intervention, the practice of repeated rebookings ceased, according to ProPublica’s analysis.

In Polk County, a woman booked on battery charges was not released after posting bond due to an ICE detainer, a federal request to hold someone for up to 48 hours beyond release eligibility. The charges against her were later dropped.

These practices raise questions about compliance with detention limits and the treatment of immigrants in local jails.

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