Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg says the city's year-long policy of holding immigrants for up to 48 hours beyond their release date for Immigration and Customs Enforcement has cost taxpayers little, but civil rights advocates are demanding transparency about the actual financial burden.

Since Greenberg reinstated the controversial immigration policy in July 2025, Louisville Metro Corrections has received 659 ICE detainers and released 544 people to federal immigration custody. The mayor's office characterized the expenses as "negligible," with a spokesman noting the city jail has not increased its operating budget to accommodate the additional holds.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky disputes that assessment and is calling for a comprehensive accounting of the costs associated with staff time, medical care, and food for detainees held under ICE requests. "Louisville has played a significant role, through this policy change, of funneling people into detention centers," ACLU Executive Director Amber Duke said.

Greenberg's decision came after federal pressure from the Trump Administration, which threatened to pull hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding from cities refusing to cooperate with ICE. The mayor said holding immigrants prevented the aggressive federal raids seen in other sanctuary cities.

But the policy's impact has far exceeded initial expectations. When announcing the change, Greenberg predicted it would affect fewer than 100 people annually. However, data shows a nearly 300% increase in average monthly ICE detainer requests since the policy change.

The debate over ICE detainer costs comes as Louisville Metro Corrections grapples with broader overcrowding challenges. A 2025 consulting report recommended Louisville spend $389 million to $530 million to replace its outdated facility, citing structural issues and staffing inefficiencies.

Metro Council Member Anthony Piagentini, a District 19 Republican, said some transparency about easily available data is warranted, but dismissed calls for a comprehensive cost analysis as impractical. However, Metro Council Member Shameka Parrish-Wright, a District 3 Democrat running for mayor against Greenberg in November, said the city must prioritize transparency and scrutinize unnecessary detention costs, particularly given the jail's existing overcrowding problems.