The first 10 federal inmates arrived at the Freeborn County jail Monday evening as part of the new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agreement.

The inmates arrived just before 7 p.m. in a white Chevrolet 3500 Express passenger van marked with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security seal.

The Homeland Security officer operating the van first drove up to the jail’s entering-and-releasing entrance in the back of the building but was then directed to go into the side law enforcement-only sally port off of Newton Avenue.

From there, the inmates were brought inside of the building.

Because of where the inmates entered the building and because the windows of the van were blocked, the inmates were not visible from the public right-of-way.

Freeborn County jail Security Administrator Marcellino Peña said it was his understanding that this first round of inmates coming to the jail were probably picked up by authorities over the weekend.

The rest of the beds are expected to fill as the summer progresses, Peña said.

Freeborn County Sheriff Mark Harig said it is up to ICE officials to determine how quickly the Freeborn County jail fills up with federal detainees.

Freeborn County’s agreement with ICE officials is for up to 80 inmates at any given time, he said. It was made official in March.

It will boost the number of inmates in the jail toward its 122-person capacity and provide Freeborn County a reimbursement of about $77 per day per detainee held in the facility.

The Freeborn County jail will act as a hub serving ICE for southern Minnesota, northern Iowa and surrounding areas as needed.

Harig said the detainees have been found to be in the country illegally and are awaiting deportation. The Freeborn County jail will serve as a holding place, before the inmates are either sent to court hearings or sent out of the country.

Inmates could be held for a variety of times — from a week to six months to even as much as a year — depending on their situations, Peña said.

Most of the detainees come straight from the Bloomington headquarters, he said.

Both Harig and Peña did not know when the second group of inmates would be coming.

Harig said the agreement has spurred the hiring of 10 new detention deputies and in the future is expected to lead to the hiring of two programmers and two transport deputies.