Cumberland County Commissioners Monday night voted to keep in place the county jail's contract with ICE.
The 3-to-2 vote came after months of pressure from activists and immigrant rights groups to end the contract.
Commissioner Stephen Gorden says forfeiting the $2.3 million annual reimbursement for housing ICE detainees could increase local property taxes and have no real affect on enforcement actions.
"So not only are we not getting compensated, who is harmed? Who's harmed is the low income property owners," he said.
Gorden added that, under state law, the jail does not have the authority to turn away federal inmates.
Commissioner Jean-Marie Caterina cast one of the two votes to cancel the contract, but said it was a complex issue.
"I wish it were black and white. It's not. But for me, and for the way I think and the way I operate, it has become a moral issue," she said.
