Clark County's next sheriff will inherit a jail contract that has pulled in nearly $3 million for housing ICE detainees, and the two leading candidates to replace the outgoing administration don't agree on what to do with it. Democrat Tim Deeringer wants to review the arrangement and possibly scrap it. Republican Kenny Kavanaugh wants to keep it exactly as is. Independent Dwight Ingle has said simply that he'd keep housing ICE prisoners if elected.
The debate centers on a 2025 rider Clark County added to its existing U.S. Marshals contract, allowing ICE to house inmates at the county jail for any requested duration. According to WHAS11, the county receives $90 per day for every inmate housed under the agreement — a figure corroborated by LPM, which reported that the rate also includes roughly 73 cents per mile for transport and $50 an hour for transportation services. Clark County Assistant Chief Mark Grube has said the inmate-housing payments flow into the county's general fund rather than a dedicated account.
LPM's reporting shows the jail took in its first ICE detainees — more than 40 women — in April 2025, and by late July 2026 the jail had held 783 people under the agreement, generating around $2.95 million over that stretch. Clark County Council President Chris Fox has said the 2026 county budget wasn't built around that revenue precisely because it could vanish without warning. “It could stop tomorrow,” Fox said, per the station's report. The council separately approved more than $463,000 in one-time $5,000 retention bonuses for 77 corrections officers in January 2026.
Two Candidates, Two Views on the ICE Contract
Deeringer, who is unfamiliar with separate 287(g) agreements and has said he has no interest in signing one, takes a more cautious stance specifically on the jail's ICE housing rider. “I personally don't like the idea of holding detainees, excessive detainees, one for liability reasons maybe and overcrowding issues,” he said, according to an interview with LPM. He has said Clark County shouldn't become reliant on federal funds that could disappear, and he would review the rider with an eye toward possibly eliminating it.
Kavanaugh sees it differently. He describes the ICE housing provision not as a separate deal but as part of the jail's existing federal contract. “It's not two contracts; it's just one existing contract,” he told LPM. He has also said the arrangement lets the county detain people at the sheriff's office without worrying about the 48-hour limit that otherwise applies, and he supports keeping the rider in place.
Both men, however, agree that a formal 287(g) agreement — the kind Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita announced on September 30, 2026 he wants all 92 of the state's sheriffs to sign — isn't realistic for Clark County right now. Kavanaugh has said such an agreement would be challenging given the department's staffing capacity and that the county simply lacks the manpower to consider one. Deeringer has echoed that a 287(g) deal, which could create additional task forces with ICE, isn't something he's pursuing.
Indiana's New Detainer Law Looms Over the Debate
The backdrop to this local fight is Senate Enrolled Act 76, passed during the 2026 legislative session, which requires Indiana sheriff's offices to notify ICE or federal law enforcement when arresting someone whose citizenship is in question, and to comply with 48-hour ICE detainers requesting extra time to hold an inmate for an interview. The News and Tribune reported that a recent debate between two of the three candidates touched on Flock cameras, immigration enforcement and the jail's budget alongside the ICE detention question, less than a month before the general election.
Jeffersonville Ties and a Contested Primary
Both Deeringer and Kavanaugh spent more than three decades combined with the Jeffersonville Police Department and each served as chief there at different times. Deeringer led the department from 2008 to 2012 before, he has said, Mayor Moore took office in 2013 and relieved him of the job; he then served as shift commander from 2013 to 2019 and retired that year to focus on his family business, D&D Facility Maintenance Services. Kavanaugh served as chief from 2015 to 2025, citing incoming financial constraints from Senate Enrolled Act 1 — passed in Indianapolis in 2025 — as part of his reason for leaving the role in August 2025. Kavanaugh has said the decision was mutual and that he had support from Mayor Mike Moore and Moore's family; Moore declined to comment on the circumstances of Kavanaugh's departure.
Kavanaugh, now a captain with the department, has pointed to his more recent service as evidence he's best suited to lead, calling himself a certified police officer still active in the profession. Deeringer counters that his seven-year absence from law enforcement shouldn't concern voters, noting that once a police officer, he remains one and could return to the job; he also says he stays current on department technology through his daughter, who serves as a Jeffersonville police officer.
Candidates Pitch a Break From the Jamey Noel Era
Deeringer decided to run for sheriff in 2024 after watching the Jamey Noel scandal unfold; Noel, the former sheriff, is now in prison. Deeringer has said deputies are scared to come to work and need a morale boost along with reassurance that Noel's management practices are gone, and he plans an open-door policy for officers seeking help. He's also proposed a civilian advisory board to report on community conditions and keep the sheriff accountable, and he has said rebuilding public trust will take time. “Earn their trust back. Because that's earned, that's not granted,” he said, per LPM's interview. Deeringer has additionally pointed to jail programs — GED education, trade training and addiction treatment — as tools to reduce recidivism.
Kavanaugh has credited part of his primary win to Republican voters wanting a candidate with no ties to Noel, and he's asked Jeffersonville voters to compare the city and its police department under his leadership from 2015 to 2025 against Deeringer's tenure from 2008 to 2012. Both candidates believe they represent a fresh start from current Clark County Sheriff's Office leadership, and as WLKY has reported, both say county residents are looking for change.
Kavanaugh defeated incumbent Sheriff Scottie Maples, who was associated with Noel, in the Republican primary, while Deeringer defeated former federal agent Ed Byers in the Democratic primary. The outlet noted the two men have worked with each other in the past and praised each other's experience, even as they now face off for the same office in a general election that will decide the future of the county's ICE detention arrangement.
