ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange County is currently facing a significant financial shortfall due to delayed reimbursements from the federal government for housing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees. According to a representative from the Orange County Corrections Department, these unpaid funds now total in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In a recent communication with News 6, the department’s spokesperson revealed that the county has not received any reimbursement payments from the federal government since July. This lack of payment has placed a strain on local resources, as the county continues to accommodate ICE detainees within the Orange County Jail.

From January to June of 2025, Orange County was reimbursed $207,000 for these services. However, the spokesperson reported that, as of November, the outstanding amount owed by the federal government has surged to an estimated $644,000.

This financial gap is raising concerns among county officials as they grapple with the fiscal implications of supporting federally mandated operations without timely compensation. The situation highlights ongoing challenges in the collaboration between local and federal agencies.

[WATCH: Concerns arise in Orange County as ICE aims to arrest undocumented immigrants]

Based on an agreement the county has with the U.S. Marshals Service, the federal government is required to partially reimburse Orange County in exchange for the county holding federal inmates at the jail.

The compact, called the Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA), currently holds that the federal government pays the county $88 per inmate held per day. County leaders have said that it costs $180 to house an individual inmate per day.

Between January and November 2025, the county has spent $1.74 million to house ICE inmates, according to the corrections spokesperson, who later clarified that the figure reflects detainees who have underlying state/local charges, as well as those who are solely there on immigration detainers.

[WATCH: Orange County mayor pours cold water on plea from immigration advocates]

The payments stopped the same month that Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings directed his staff to re-engage the federal government in an attempt to renegotiate the terms of the IGSA.

During a county commission meeting this week, Danny Banks, the deputy county administrator of public safety, said the process to try to renegotiate the reimbursement rates is ongoing.

The county corrections spokesperson also told News 6 that between Jan. 1, 2025, and Nov. 30, 2025, there have been 5,907 bookings with ICE detainers.