Fresno County struck an agreement with the Border Patrol on Tuesday to house detainees over the next several years in Fresno County Jail.
The Fresno County Board of Supervisors authorized the signing of a memorandum of understanding with The United States Customs and Border Protection to hold up to six federal detainees at a time who have been arrested by Border Patrol officials.
The Border Patrol will pay Fresno County $125 per bed every day they are occupied.
Per the agreement, detainees will be housed in the Fresno County Jail for up to 72 hours.
Detainees may include people who are awaiting a determination from Border Patrol regarding their admissibility status, as well as further immigration action.
Spending big to keep COVID-19 vaccines administered
The Board of Supervisors also approved two contracts with local health care organizations to administer COVID-19 vaccines throughout the next year.
The county approved an agreement with UCSF – which retroactively dates back to April 15 – for $4.4 million to administer vaccines through April 14, 2022. .
The county also agreed to a deal with Valley Health Team – retroactive to March 24 – to provide vaccine services that were previously under the purview of the County Administrative Officer. VHT received $730,200 to provide those services through March 23, 2022.
Both deals are covered by funding from the CARES Act, state grants, and Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity grants.
UCSF has provided around $550,000 in services since April 15, while VHT has provided around $310,000 in services since March 24.
UCSF’s COVID-19 work in the region dates back to an August 2020 agreement with the City of Fresno to provide testing. UCSF had also administered over 20,000 doses of the vaccine by mid-April.
Tuesday’s agreement allows UCSF to administer up to 1,000 doses per day, six days per week at the Fresno City College COVID-19 clinic.
UCSF will also be able to provide mobile clinics throughout Fresno County with 200 vaccinations per day.
